To Have Peace In Mind : Deathly Hallows Edition
by Brianna-BlackPotter
Summary: They just wanted to know what was going on, what was happening, how Harry, Ron and Hermione were. As luck would have it, and of course Luna's nargles, a book appeared with a note from Dumbledore. The title of the book? Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. A story of the Order and others reading the 7th Harry Potter Book. A LOT BETTER THEN THIS SUMMARY!
1. Prologue

**Hello readers! I just want to say that this is a some what original idea as I have not read anything identical to this one. I have seen a few reading the Deathly Hallows but non quite like this one. Please review and tell me what you think**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 1 - Prologue**

The room was quiet; it had been 12 hours since Bill and Fleur's wedding and in those few hours none had heard of what had happened to Harry, Ron and Hermione. They knew that the golden trio had escaped because not soon after the death eaters had gone as well. Though not hearing of them, they were not sure if it was a good sign or a bad one.

Now the Weasley's, (except Percy) Remus, Tonks, Kingsley, Fleur, Luna, and Neville were at the Burrow for a mid-day lunch. McGonagall would be joining them shortly; after all she was getting the school ready for the next year. They knew they were being watched so they were neither trying to make it seem like they didn't know were Harry Potter was nor that they had any contact with them.  
Just then the head of the Weasley family Arthur Weasley walked into the small kitchen.

"I just sent them a Patrounus," He declared as he sat down and his wife placed a plate of food in front of him.

"What did you say dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked quietly.

"I said Family's safe, do not reply, we are being watched," He repeated.

"Very helpful" Remus said from his seat next to his wife and Luna. The others nodded in agreement then fell silent. As the room ate Luna looked at every one in a dreamy way.

"I wish we knew what happened to Harry and the others after they left the wedding" She said in her same odd voice.

"We all wish that Luna" Neville said with a small smile at his friend. "But I don't think we will know till we see them again." If we see them again He thought to himself. Just then there was a loud thud coming from the living room. As one Remus, Tonks, Kingsley, Arthur, and the twins got up their wand out. Mrs. Weasley stopped the other kids from doing so and told them to stay put. It was a while before the others resurfaced and came back into the kitchen. This time Remus had something in his hand.

"What do you got there?" Neville asked curiously.

"It's a book. Though I don't really know how it got here," Remus replied. Luna looked at it with her head sideways then spoke.

"It's infested with nargles, I suppose it was sent from the dead," Luna said as if it was obvious. The others looked at her like she was crazy, or crazier then usually.

"From the dead?" Fred asked.

"Yes open it, there must be a note because the king nargle is buzzing around the cover." She told them. Remus opened it and indeed a note fell out.

"See, all the nargles left so it is safe to read" Luna said with a smile. Remus read the note to himself then very quickly dropped the book in shock.

"What what's the matter?" Tonks asked her husband. Remus shook his head as if to try and clear his brain.

"Its not possible." He whispered. The others were starting to feel uneasy, Remus after all was always calm and collected not nervous and freaking out.

"What did it say?" Kingsley asked. When Remus said nothing he turned to Tonks "Read it" Tonks did as was told and grabbed both the book and the note that fell out of it.

_Dear Weasley family, and Order Members _Tonks read out loud._  
I send this book in hope that it will ease your worries. I left without a goodbye and with out any instructions to you on how to finish this war. Now I will not lie I did tell Harry what is to happen before this war is to end, so this book will tell you what Harry is doing and what will be the out come of the war. When you begin to read this book, time it self will stop. Read and don't stop reading only when hungry. Sleep will not be needed. When you finish, you will know what is to come. Be very CAREFUL. Knowing the truth and the future will be very dangerous. If you change it too much, the war itself might be changed. I send this book in hope to prevent any deaths and or to ease the mind of those who are worried. Good luck with the remainder of the war and good reading. The book starts with when the death eaters are crashing the wedding.  
Yours Truly, and looking down from above  
Albus Dumbledore  
_

_P.S – I will be sending a few, old friends to read with you guys. They wont be alive just, a ghost if you will. I'm sorry to say they will leave when the bookends.  
_

Tonks finished reading and when she did her mouth was dry. Was this real? Can this be true? Everyone's head was bussing with questions and concerns.

"This has got to be fake!" Neville yelled out. Even when he said it he didn't believe it. How could someone from the dead send a book about the future? How can a few 'old friends' who are also dead come back to read with them?

"I think its real" Ginny said quietly. Bill, Fred, George, and Charlie who decided his family needed him more then his dragons did, turned to face their little sister.

"So do we" They said together. Now most of the room believed this to be true.

"Well let's get reading so we know what is happened" Fred and George said in unison.

"Lets read in the living room. That book looks awfully long." No one said a word as they got up and walked over to the next room. Once everyone was sitting down and ready to read Ginny asked a question.

"What's the title of the book?" She asked. Tonks who was still holding the book read the title out loud.

"Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows" she replied. The room fell silent again. Before anyone could ask what the deathly hallows were, though Luna looked like she knew, Professor McGonagall walked into the living room.

"I'm sorry i'm late" She said swiftly "But I thought we were going to have lunch, or did I miss it?" She asked as she saw that everyone was in the living room sitting.

"No we had lunch" Mrs. Weasley began.

"Well that's okay I ate earlier" McGonagall stated, "What's going on?" She asked quickly reading everyone's faces.

After explaining to her about the book and who sent it she gaped at them.

"Is it real?" She asked with a hand to her chest. As if fate wanted to prove that this was in deed real, a loud pop was heard in the living room followed by a shine of bright light. The light swept the room and everyone in it had to close their eyes. When they opened them, they could not believe what they were seeing.  
James and Lily Potter, Fabian and Gideon Prewett, and lastly Sirius Black were standing the living room at the burrow.

No one said a word, everyone was staring the five new ghostly images in front of him or her. One could hear a pin drop and it would have sounded like a bowling ball.

"BOO" Sirius screamed making everyone jump in shock. As if coming to their senses at hearing the familiar bark like laugh everyone stopped staring.

"S-Sirius" Remus stampered out. Sirius stopped laughing and stepped in front of his friend, whom he knew missed him.

"Hey Moony" he said softly.

"Y-you NEARLY GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK" Remus screamed. James Potter started laughing, as did Sirius. Remus though overly over joyed at seeing the two friends he missed so much was now annoyed.

"Shut up" Remus muttered and moved to hit Sirius in the back of the head only to have his hand go through his head.

Remus stared at his hand in shock. Sirius smile faltered.

"Were not back from the dead, were more ghost." No one said anything for a while till Mrs. Weasley broke the silence.

"Fabian? Gideon?" She whispered.

"Hey little sis" They said grinning identically.

"We've missed you" Gideon said softly.

"And your cooking" Fabian added loudly. Molly gave a watery laugh. She wanted to run to them and hug them but she saw what happened when Remus tried to hit Sirius. She settled for just clinging to her husband.

"Hey there Moony" Remus who had been watching the exchange of Molly and her brothers turned to see Lily and James standing next to Sirius in front of him.

"J-James" Remus all but whimpered out.

"I know" James said "I'm still sexy" Remus laughed, as did everyone else in the room.

"Shut up Prongs" Sirius said, "Can you believe it Remus. I died and wake up to James yelling in my ear that he was sexier then me!"

"Boys" Lily said in a strong voice "Stop it now" and that's what they did. "Now hello, everyone" Lily said as she stared at McGonagall, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, the twins, the older twins (Fabian and Gideon) Neville, Luna, Kingsley, Bill, Charlie and Tonks. "We have come with the book, so maybe we can start reading after we catch up a bit yes?"

It was a little over an hour and after many tears and laughs did they finally feel like they should read what is to come.

"Well we might as well start reading Dumbledore said that time would stop once we did." Kingsley said breaking the silence that had crept into the room when he started talking. As one everyone turned to the clock to see that in fact time had stopped and the frozen clock was only proof.

"Who should read first?" Tonks asked as she held out the book.

"I will if no one wants too," Neville said as he reached out and grabbed the book. No one objected and so he opened the book and read out the chapter's title.

"Chapter Nine – A place to hide" Neville read out.

"Why is it starting at chapter nine?" George asked.

"Because Dumbledore said it would start after the death eaters ruined the wedding" Ginny told her brother. Everyone nodded in understanding then turned back to Neville as he began to read again.

_**So what do you think? Should I continue? I have already two other chapters for this story done, bu not want to upload them unless I have positive or negative or any feedback at all. Thank you and Review please**_

_**Brianna-BlackPotter**_


	2. A Place to Hide

**Okay so Hi (: Thank you for those who reviewed, and like I promised here is another chapter. Like I said in the previous chapter I have another chapter done but I dont want to upload to soon, so review this one so I know you guys wan the next one, okay?**

**ENJOY **

**Also ! I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER BUT I SURE AS HELL WISH I DID**

"Chapter Nine – A place to hide" Neville read out.

"Why is it starting at chapter nine?" George asked.

"Because Dumbledore said it would start after the death eaters ruined the wedding" Ginny told her brother. Everyone nodded in understanding then turned back to Neville as he began to read again.

**Everything seemed fuzzy, slow. Harry and Hermione jumped to their feet and drew their wands. Many people were only just realizing that something strange had happened; heads were still turning toward the silver cat as it vanished.  
**  
"Well its obvious why. That cat was scary, everyone panicked" Luna commented.

**Silence spread outward in cold ripples from the place where the Patronus had landed. Then somebody screamed. Harry and Hermione threw themselves into the panicking crowd.  
**  
"Always's being the noble one" Ginny muttered "Hermione too" The others looked at Ginny and she blushed under there gaze.

"What you know its true" she replied. Nobody disagreed with her logic.

"Gets it from his father" Lily muttered.

"I say it's a good thing" James defended himself. Now everyone was watching them, Neville even stopped reading.

"Its not" Lily and Ginny said together, both girls looked at each other then blushed.

**Guests were sprinting in all directions; many were disapparating; the protective enchantments around the Burrow had broken.**

**"Ron!" Hermione cried. "Ron, where are you?"**

Molly's eyes widened. She looked so white that everyone in the room noticed.

"Mom calm down this already happened. We know he got out alright" Bill told his mother. Molly gave him a stern look but visably calmed down.

**As they pushed their way across the dance floor, Harry saw cloaked and masked figures appearing in the crowd; then he saw Lupin and Tonks, their wands raised, and heard both of them shout, "Protego!", a cry that was echoed on all sides**

Even though they already lived through this, some of the people in the room shuttered.

"An Auror will always be the first to help" Tonks said proudly. Of course her and her husband will begin to help out the guest.

"Mad-Eye would be proud" Kingsley said making Tonks smile widen.

"Yea then yell at us about CONSTANT VIGILANCE" Sirius said making Tonks laugh.

**"Ron! Ron!" Hermione called, half sobbing as she and Harry were buffered by terrified guests:**

"Are we missing something?" Fred asked with a small grin.

"Yea Mione seems to be very very worried about Ronnikins" George teased.

"Ronnikins?" Fabian asked his nephew.

"Hey Fabian leave are nephew alone Gerogistin is not good with nicknames" Gideon laughed as George blushed.

"Well-" Fred began to defend his twin from their twin uncles when there mom stopped him.

"Shut it all of you" Mrs. Weasley scowled. "There are deatheaters and she cant find Ronald id be worried too. I was worried too" After she finished lecturing both twins Neville continued.

**Harry seized her hand to make sure they weren't separated as a streak of light whizzed over their heads, whether a protective charm or something more sinister he did not know. And then Ron was there.**

"I could image both of there reliefs" Remus said.

**He caught hold of Hermione's free arm, and Harry felt her turn on the spot; sight and sound were extinguished as darkness pressed in upon him; all he could feel was Hermione's hand as he was squeezed through space and time, away from the Burrow, away from the descending Death Eaters, away, perhaps, from Voldemort himself...**

"Like head show his face here" Mr. Weasley snarled. It was quiet an unusal sight. Arthur Weasley never snarled at anything nor anyone.

"Now we get to find out were they went" Fred yelled excitedly.

"Bet they go to my place" Sirius muttered to James and Remus.

"Bet he goes to Godric Hallow" James betted. Remus rolled his eyes at his dead bestmates. (A/N that sounds weird dead bestmates)

"Bet he goes neither" They all betted their amounts then listen to Neville again.

**"Where are we?" said Ron's voice. Harry opened his eyes. For a moment he thought they had not left the wedding after all**.

Everyone shifted in there seats. Remus decided he should sooth them.

"It said he thought they hadn't left not that they hadn't" Molly threw him an aprecate look.

**They still seemed to be surrounded by people. "Tottenham Court Road," panted Hermione. "Walk, just walk, we need to find somewhere for you to change."**

"She is very bright" Kingsley commented "The best place to go if you want to get away from death eaters is the muggle world."

**Harry did as she asked. They half walked, half ran up the wide dark street thronged with late-night revelers and lined with closed shops, stars twinkling above them.**

Lily, Ginny and Tonks smiled "That sounds beautiful"

**A double-decker bus rumbled by and a group of merry pub-goers ogled them as they passed; Harry and Ron were still wearing dress robes**.

"They should really find some clothes to change into" Luna said suddenly "If they want to blend in that is"

"But they left suddenly. They probably don't have clothes nor money" Mrs. Weasley said quickly. How was her baby going to survive with no proper clothes or money to eat?

**"Hermione, we haven't got anything to change into," Ron told her, as a young woman burst into raucous giggles at the sight of him.**

"Well that was rude" Lily stated.

"Girls always laugh at Ronnikins" Fred said as George and Ginny bursted into laughs. "Nothing different with muggle girls." He would have continued had Mrs. Weasley not sent him a very terrifying glare.

"And that was rude too" Lily said making the twins slightly ashamed. Just slightly.

**"Why didn't I make sure I had the Invisibility Cloak with me?" said Harry, inwardly cursing his own stupidity. "All last year I kept it on me and-"  
**  
"Why did he keep the cloak on him all last year?" Bill asked curiously. When no one answered James took a guess.

"Maybe Dumbledore told him he should?" No one knew for sure but that did seem like a good guess.

**"It's okay, I've got the Cloak, I've got clothes for both of you," said Hermione.**

"She does?" Remus asked shocked "Did anyone see her with a huge bag?"

"No all I saw her was with a cute small pouch. That would hardly fit Harry's cloak let alone clothes for Harry, Ron and Hermione." Ginny piped in.

**"Just try and act naturally until, -this will do." She led them down a side street, then into the shelter of a shadowy alleyway.**

**"When you say you've got the Cloak, and clothes..." said Harry, frowning at Hermione, who was carrying nothing except her small beaded handbag, in which she was now rummaging.**

"Told you" Ginny said smugly. Though no one had disagreed with her.

**"Yes, they're here," said Hermione, and to Harry and Ron's utter astonishment, she pulled out a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, some maroon socks, and finally the silvery Invisibility Cloak.  
**  
"Wow" The Weasley boys said. "How did she do that?" George asked.

**"How the ruddy hell?"**

Molly scowled at the language

**"Undetectable Extension Charm," said Hermione. "Tricky, but I think I've done it okay; anyway, I managed to fit everything we need in here."**

Sirius and Remus smiled. "Hermione really is the smartest witch of her age." Remus said as the others nodded in agreement.

"The boys will be fine, they have her with them." Arthur said and to Mrs. Weasley' and Lily's surprise they felt that those words gave them a small comfort.

**She gave the fragile-looking bag a little shake and it echoed like a cargo hold as a number of heavy objects rolled around inside it. "Oh, damn, that'll be the books," she said, peering into it, "and I had them all stacked by subject..."**

The room laughed. That was so Hermione.

**"Oh well... Harry, you'd better take the Invisibility Cloak. Ron, hurry up and change..."  
**  
"Yes mother" The twins and Sirius coursed in unison, making the room laugh again. Molly and Lily shook there heads.

"**When did you do all this?" Harry asked as Ron stripped off his robes.  
**  
Sirius and James started wolf whistling while both twins started singing

"Ron and Mione sitting in a tree" After three strong silencing charm and sticking charms to keep them in there seats they continued.

**"I told you at the Burrow, I've had the essentials packed for days, you know, in case we needed to make a quick getaway. I packed your rucksack this morning, Harry, after you changed, and put it in here... I just had a feeling..."**

"Better to be safe then sorry" Tonks said. "Hermione would really make a good Auror." Remus shook his head.

"I think she'd make it good in Law Enforcement" Nevillle, who had stopped reading laughed at them.

"What?" Charlie asked.

"Hermione would make it good in the department of Magical Creatures." At there confused faces he continued "She and her S.P.E.W she cares to much" When no one disagreed he continued to read.

"**You're amazing, you are," said Ron, handing her his bundled-up robes.**

"Always the tone of surprise" Tonks said quietly though she suppressed the urge to giggle and blush, at the sound of young love.

**"Thank you," said Hermione, managing a small smile as she pushed the robes into the bag. "Please, Harry, get that Cloak on!"  
**  
"Yes mother" The twins yelled together.

"How did you take the charm off?" Mrs. Weasley yelled annoyed.

"Gave us these sweets" Sirius said, as his and James charm seem to have come off as well.

"What is it?" James asked as he chewed "Taste like cherry's" Fred and George grinned.

"Sweet tooth" Fred explained "Its our new product, it can lift any spell placed on your mouth and allow you to annoy those who placed it there"

"We have different flavor's though we only had cherry today" George added.

"Really" Fabian and Gideon started "And the joke shop it going good? I had to admit I wanted-" But Molly cut off her brother.

"We are READING" Molly yelled.

**Harry threw his Invisibility Cloak around his shoulders and pulled it up over his head, vanishing from sight. He was only just beginning to appreciate what had happened.**

"Well it was a shocker" Luna said as though it was obvious. Neville only nodded at her then countined.

**"The others, everybody at the wedding-"**

"Oh Harry" Molly moaned her hands covering her mouth.

**"We can't worry about that now," whispered Hermione. "It's you they're after, Harry, and we'll just put everyone in even more danger by going back."**

"Her logic is as good as always" McGonagall commented happily at one of her favorite Lions.

**"She's right," said Ron, who seemed to know that Harry was about to argue, even if he could not see his face. "Most of the Order was there, they'll look after everyone."  
**  
Said Order grinned.

**Harry nodded, then remembered that they could not see him, and said, "Yeah." But he thought of Ginny, and fear bubbled like acid in his stomach.**

The Weasley boys did not know whether to growl or smile at the fact that Harry cared so much for there little sister. Ginny only smiled fondly at the book.

Lily and James sent Ginny a searching look that caused Ginny to blush at there gaze.

"She's beautiful" James whispered to his wife "The Potter tradition to marry a beautiful red head" Lily smacked him playfully. She could hit him as they were both ghost. Though they continued to hear the story her eyes kept turning back to the girl who stole her sons heart.

**"Come on, I think we ought to keep moving," said Hermione.****  
****They moved back up the side street and onto the main road again, where a group of men on the opposite side was singing and weaving across the pavement.  
**  
**"Just as a matter of interest, why Tottenham Court Road?" Ron asked Hermione.**

"Ronald" Molly said shaking her head.

**"I've no idea, it just popped into my head, but I'm sure we're safer out in the Muggle world, it's not where they'll expect us to be."**

"True" Tonks said "But wouldn't they feel you know exposed right in the open?" Tonks asked

**"True," said Ron, looking around, "but don't you feel a bit exposed?"  
**  
Tonks blinked.

**"Where else is there?" asked Hermione, cringing as the men on the other side of the road started wolf-whistling at her.**

The Weasley boys growled lightly. They thought of Hermione as much as a sister as they did Ginny. Remus, James, Sirius, Arthur and Kingsley put on a face of disgust. As Tonks, Mrs. Weasley, McGonagall, and Lily rolled there eyes. Boy will always be boys.

**"We can hardly book rooms at the Leaky Cauldron, can we? And Grimmauld Place is out if Snape can get in there... I suppose we could try my parents' home, though I think there's a chance they might check there... Oh, I wish they'd shut up!"**

"As they should!" Bill yelled annoyed.  
**  
"All right, darling?" the drunkest of the men on the other pavement was yelling. "Fancy a drink? Ditch ginger and come and have a pint!"  
**  
George snorted. "Ginger? I prefer red head thank you very much"

**"Let's sit down somewhere," Hermione said hastily as Ron opened his mouth to shout back across the road.**

Molly began to look worried, she felt something was going to happen.

**"Look, this will do, in here!"**  
**  
****It was a small and shabby all-night café. A light layer of grease lay on all the Formica-topped tables, but it was at least empty. Harry slipped into a booth first and Ron sat next to him opposite Hermione, who had her back to the entrance and did not like it.  
**  
"Smart move" James and Kingsley said together.

"Ha we thing alike bolts" James added.

"Dead for years and you still feel the need to call me Bolts?" Kingsley asked with a smile.

"Being dead don't change my nickname for you" James teased.

**She glanced over her shoulder so frequently she appeared to have a twitch.**

Sirius, Fred, and George grinned. That sounded funny.

**Harry did not like being stationary; walking had given the illusion that they had a goal. Beneath the Cloak he could feel the last vestiges of Polyjuice leaving him, his hands returning to their usual length and shape. He pulled his glasses out of his pocket and put them on again.  
**  
"Ah he's a scrawny git again" Fred exclaimed. "Oh how we missed him" Everyone let out a small laugh though James pouted.

"My son's not scrawny" he said.

"Yes he is, like his father" Sirius said loudly. James mumbled something like 'Im not scrawny' though no one heard.

**After a minute or two, Ron said, "You know, we're not far from the Leaky Cauldron here, it's only in Charing Cross"**

Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother.

"**Ron, we can't!" said Hermione at once.**

"Not to stay there, but to find out what's going on!"

**"We know what's going on! Voldemort's taken over the Ministry, what else do we need to know?"**

Molly smiled slightly "He's worried about us"

**"Okay, okay, it was just an idea!" They relapsed into a prickly silence. The gum-chewing waitress shuffled over and Hermione ordered two cappuccinos**

"Um two?" Tonks asked

**As Harry was invisible, it would have looked odd to order him one.**

"Never mind" she said.

**A pair of burly workmen entered the café and squeezed into the next booth.**

Remus frowned slightly.

**Hermione dropped her voice to a whisper. "I say we find a quiet place to disapparate and head for the countryside. Once we're there, we could send a message to the Order."**

**"Can you do that talking Patronus thing, then?" asked Ron.**

**"I've been practicing and I think so," said Hermione.**

"Smart witch" Kingsley nodded in approval.

**"Well, as long as it doesn't get them into trouble, though they might've been arrested already. God, that's revolting," Ron added after one sip of the foamy, grayish coffee. The waitress had heard; she shot Ron a nasty look as she shuffled off to take the new customers' orders.**

"Ronald" Mrs. Weasley scowled making everyone laugh.

**The larger of the two workmen, who was blond and quite huge, now that Harry came to look at him, waved her away.  
**  
Odd Tonks thought as her Auror training started to kick in.

**She stared, affronted.****  
****"Let's get going, then, I don't want to drink this muck," said Ron. "Hermione, have you got Muggle money to pay for this?"**

**"Yes, I took out all my Building Society savings before I came to the Burrow. I'll bet all the change is at the bottom," sighed Hermione, reaching for her beaded bag. **

**The two workmen made identical movements, and Harry mirrored them without conscious thought.**

"That's my godson" Sirius said proudly. "Kick there ass Harry!" Sirius said caught up in the book.

"Sirius!" Lily said "Don't cuss"

Molly started to shake, why were the workmen attacking them?

**All three of them drew their wands. Ron, a few seconds late in realizing what was going on, lunged across the table, pushing Hermione sideways onto her bench.  
**  
"Aww" Tonks, Ginny and Lily said as they couldn't help themselves.

**The force of the Death Eaters' spells shattered the tiled wall where Ron's head had just been**

"No" Molly whispered. "That was too close! How did they find them so fast?" She half cried out.

"I don't know" Kingsley said. "Did someone follow them?"

"I don't see how, unless some one grabbed Hermione when she was apperating out" James said joining in the conversation.

"No they would have noticed" Lily said picking up where he husband left off.

"Well then how did two death eaters find them in the muggle world? I don't think they would be there on there own" Sirius said. No one knew what else to say, no one knew how the teens had been found so they decided to keep reading. Maybe they would find out in the book.

**As Harry, still invisible, yelled, "Stupefy!" The great blond Death Eater was hit in the face by a jet of red light.  
**  
James smiled proudly, a smile that was mirrored in every face in the room.

**He slumped sideways, unconscious. His companion, unable to see who had cast the spell, fired another at Ron.  
**  
Molly was shaking so bad that Arthur had to hold his wife to keep her from falling of the couch.

**Shining black ropes flew from his wand-tip and bound Ron head to foot, the waitress screamed and ran for the door.  
**  
No one said a word, as they listened, hoping and praying that the teens got out.

**Harry sent another Stunning Spell at the Death Eater with the twisted face who had tied up Ron, but the spell missed, rebounded on the window, and hit the waitress, who collapsed in front of the door.  
**  
"Poor woman she must have been terrified." Lily said sadly.

**"Expulso!" bellowed the Death Eater, and the table behind which Harry was standing blew up: The force of the explosion slammed him into the wall and he felt his wand leave his hand as the Cloak slipped off him**.

"NO" Lily, Molly, Ginny, and Tonks cried just as Sirius yelled

"SHIT" The woman were to worried to scowled him about his language.

**"Petrificus Totalus!" screamed Hermione from out of sight, and the Death Eater fell forward like a statue to land with a crunching thud on the mess of broken china, table, and coffee.**

Everyone in the room breathed out a breath of relief.

"Thank god they have Hermione" Bill said as Charile and the others nodded.

**Hermione crawled out from underneath the bench, shaking bits of glass ashtray out of her hair and trembling all over.  
**  
"I can imagine why" Lily said sadly "That poor girl"

"She's strong, she will be okay" most of the room told her.

**"D-diffindo," she said, pointing her wand at Ron, who roared in pain as she slashed open the knee of his jeans, leaving a deep cut.**

James and Sirius winced. Molly was shaking her head and muttering under her breath about being to young to fight so many.

**"Oh, I'm so sorry, Ron, my hand's shaking! Diffindo!" The severed ropes fell away. Ron got to his feet, shaking his arms to regain feeling in them.**

**Harry picked up his wand and climbed over all the debris to where the large blond Death Eater was sprawled across the bench.**

"Please be careful" Lily moaned. James drew in a fake breath

"Lily! He is my son, so he has my genes and I am always careful" Lily only smacked him upside the head.

**"I should've recognized him, he was there the night Dumbledore died," he said. He turned over the darker Death Eater with his foot; the man's eyes moved rapidly between Harry, Ron and Hermione.  
**  
McGonagall had a few tears in her eyes. "I still cant believe he saw the headmaster die" She said sadly.

"He is a strong boy, but I know that that must have hurt him deeply." Molly added. The room fell silent as they remembered there once beloved friend and

headmaster. After a moment they continued to read.

**"That's Dolohov," said Ron. "I recognize him from the old wanted posters. I think the big one's Thorfinn Rowle."**

Fabian and Gideon growled. That bastard was the one that killed them.

"Stupid idiotic son of a bitch" Every head turned to Mrs. Weasley who was raging.

"What?" She asked when they continued to stare "No one and I mean no one hurts my family. When they do, they have no respect in my book" The spark in her eyes

told everything, she would kill if she got the chance to hurt the ones who had hurt her family.

**"Never mind what they're called!" said Hermione a little hysterically. "How did they find us? What are we going to do?" Somehow her panic seemed to clear Harry's head.  
**  
"Why is Harry good under pressure but not good when not?" Fred asked curiously.

"Its just how his brain works" Ginny answered.

**"Lock the door," he told her, "and Ron, turn out the lights."**

**He looked down at the paralyzed Dolohov, thinking fast as the lock clicked and Ron used the Deluminator to plunge the café into darkness. Harry could hear the men who had jeered at Hermione earlier, yelling at another girl in the distance.**

Bill growled "Will someone do something about those drunk idiots?"

**"What are we going to do with them?" Ron whispered to Harry through the dark; then, even more quietly, "Kill them? They'd kill us. They had a good go just now."  
**  
Lily shook her head as did James. They knew there son was not a killer. He proved that when he save Wormtail from Sirius and Remus.

**Hermione shuddered and took a step backward. Harry shook his head. "We just need to wipe their memories," said Harry. "It's better like that, it'll throw them off the scent. If we killed them it'd be obvious we were here."  
**  
"Smart as always" Kingley praised. McGonagall smiled proudly at her lions.

**"You're the boss," said Ron, sounding profoundly relieved. "But I've never down a Memory Charm."  
**  
"Good" Molly muttered quietly

**"Nor have I," said Hermione, "but I know the theory."**

**She took a deep, calming breath, then pointed her wand at Dolohov's forehead and said, "Obliviate."****  
****At once, Dolohov's eyes became unfocused and dreamy.  
**  
"Is there a spell she doesn't know?" Gideon asked the room. Everyone looked at each other, but it was Luna who answered.

"She knows lots but because she over thinks most she doesn't know all" She said softly. Gideon didn't know weither that was a yes she knew everything or no she didn't.

**"Brilliant!" said Harry, clapping her on the back. "Take care of the other one and the waitress while Ron and I clear up."  
**  
"Clear up? Why?" Fabian and Fred asked. Neville snorted then laughed. When they asked what was funny he just read they next line.

**"Clear up?" said Ron, looking around at the partly destroyed café "Why?"**

Fabian and Fred looked at each other then blinked. The room only laughed at them.

**"Don't you think they might wonder what's happened if they wake up and find themselves in a place that looks like it's just been bombed?"**

Remus, Lily, and McGonagall smiled. It seemed that not only had Harry inherited his mothers eyes but also her witty thinking as well.

**"Oh right, yeah..."****  
**  
**Ron struggled for a moment before managing to extract his wand from his pocket. "It's no wonder I can't get it out, Hermione, you packed my old jeans, they're tight."**

**"Oh, I'm so sorry," hissed Hermione, and as she dragged the waitress out of sight of the windows, Harry heard her mutter a suggestion as to where Ron could stick his wand instead.**

The twins laughed as Sirius said "I wonder where Hermione would want to stick Ron's wand up" At his raised eye brows and smirk Lily, who was the only one that could smack him did.

"Thank you Lily" Molly, McGonagall, Ginny and Tonks said.

"My pleasure" Lily answered as Sirius pouted.

**Once the cafe was restored to its previous condition, they heaved the Death Eaters back into their booth and propped them up facing each other. "But how did they find us?" Hermione asked, looking from one inert man to the other.  
**  
"That's what I would like to know" Kingsley and James said together again. James opened his mouth but Kingsley stopped him

"Not another word" James only smirked at his former friend.

**"How did they know where we were?" She turned to Harry. "You don't think you've still got your Trace on you, do you, Harry?"  
**  
"He cant its against the law to but a trace on an adult, and anyways who could have put it on Harry? No ones been close enough to do it" Remus ranted

**"He can't have," said Ron. "The Trace breaks at seventeen, that's Wizarding law, you can't put it on an adult."  
**  
Remus blinked as the twins, Fabian, Gideon, James and Sirius laughed at him.  
**  
"As far as you know," said Hermione. "What if the Death Eaters have found a way to put it on a seventeen-year-old?"  
**  
"Cant" Remus muttered.

**"But Harry hasn't been near a Death Eater in the last twenty-four hours. Who's supposed to have put a Trace back on him?"**

Remus blinked twice.

"Wow Moony your just like Ron" Sirius teased his werewolf friend.

"Padfoot if you weren't dead id kill you for teasing me" Remus growled playfully."You always were a moody werewolf" James added "Then again it was your time of the month when you were crabby" Fred and George bursted out laugh as Remus turned pink.

"Moving on from Professor Lupin's time of the month-" Neville said as he began to read again.

**Hermione did not reply. Harry felt contaminated, tainted: Was that really how the Death Eaters had found them?  
**  
**"If I can't use magic, and you can't use magic near me, without us giving away our position" he began.  
**  
Ginny let out a huge breath "He we go" she said loudly. At her family and friends confused looks she said "You'll see"  
**  
"We're not splitting up!" said Hermione firmly.  
**  
"Ahh" was said around the room as they understood. Harry was being a noble git again.  
**  
"We need a safe place to hide," said Ron. "Give us time to think things through."  
**  
**"Grimmauld Place," said Harry. The other two gaped.**

"I would to" Sirius said "I hate my old house" He glared at the floor but when he felt a hand on his shoulder he looked up. His friends hazel eyes stared at his own.

"You okay Padfoot?" James whispered to his friend.

"Yea im fine Prongs" Sirius told his best mate "Thanks" James only smile at his friend. The turned to look at Remus who was watching them with hungry eyes.

"Merrs. Padfoot and Prongs would like to say that we miss Mister Moony dearly" Sirius said wish more then to go and hug his life time friend.

"Merrs. Moony would like to say that I miss you both too" Remus whispered. Fred and George stared at there idols but before they could say anything or ask for autographs Neville continued reading.

**"Don't be silly, Harry, Snape can get in there!"  
**  
Lily sighed softly. She had spied on her old friend when she died and found out that he was good. When she tried to tell James he said he didn't want to hear anything about the greasy haired git.

**"Ron's dad said they've put up jinxes against him and even if they haven't worked," he pressed on as Hermione began to argue "so what? I swear, I'd like nothing better than to meet Snape!"**

James and Sirius smiled proudly while Fred andd George cheered. The others in the room would have defended the man had he not murdered Dumbledore.

**"But-"**

**"Hermione, where else is there? It's the best chance we've got. Snape's only one Death Eater. If I've still got the Trace on me, we'll have whole crowds of them on us wherever else we go."**

"There so worried now they have the fake idea that he is being magically tracked!" Molly yelled.

**She could not argue, though she looked as if she would have liked to. While she unlocked the cafe door, Ron clicked the Deluminator to release the cafe's light. Then, on Harry's count of three, they reversed the spells upon their three victims, and before the waitress or either of the Death Eaters could do more than stir sleepily, Harry, Ron and Hermione had turned on the spot and vanished into the compressing darkness once more.**

The room stayed quiet as they read and hoped for good news.

**Seconds later Harry's lungs expanded gratefully and he opened his eyes: They were now standing in the middle of a familiar small and shabby square. Tall, dilapidated houses looked down on them from every side. Number twelve was visible to them, for they had been told of its existence by Dumbledore, its Secret-Keeper, and they rushed toward it, checking every few yards that they were not being followed or observed.  
**

Kingsley, Tonks, Remus, Sirius, James and Lily nodded in approval.

**They raced up the stone steps, and Harry tapped the front door once with his wand. They heard a series of metallic clicks and the clatter of a chain, then the door swung open with a creak and they hurried over the threshold.**

**As Harry closed the door behind them, the old-fashioned gas lamps sprang into life, casting flickering light along the length of the hallway. It looked just as Harry remembered it: eerie, cobwebbed, the outlines of the house-elf heads on the wall throwing odd shadows up the staircase.**

Sirius shook, he hated his old home, and reading about it made him feel terrible.

**Long dark curtains concealed the portrait of Sirius's mother. The only thing that was out of place was the troll's leg umbrella stand, which was lying on its side as if Tonks had just knocked it over again.**

The room laughed Sirius the loudest. Tonks only pouted.

"I-I" she huffed "I didn't do that all the time" The room only laughed at the blushing witch. Remus smiled at his wife and kissed her lightly, then when he realised what he was doing he with drew from her quickly. Sirius wanted to punch his werewolf friend when he saw the hurt look on his cousion's face.

**"I think somebody's been in here," Hermione whispered, pointing toward it.**

**"That could've happened as the Order left," Ron murmured back.**

**"So where are these jinxes they put up against Snape?" Harry asked.**

**"Maybe they're only activated if he shows up?" suggested Ron. Yet they remained close together on the doormat, backs against the door, scared to move farther into the house.**

**"Well, we can't stay here forever," said Harry, and he took a step forward.**

Lily and Molly held their breaths while everyone else was on the edge of their seats.

**"Severus Snape?"****Mad-Eye Moody's voice whispered out of the darkness, making all three of them jump back in fright.  
**  
"I can imagine" Luna said.

**"We're not Snape!" croaked Harry, before something whooshed over him like cold air and his tongue curled backward on itself, making it impossible to speak.  
**  
"Please be okay, please be okay" Lily repeated over and over again. James put an arm around his wife and whispered soothing things into her eyes. He lifted his head to see Arthur doing the same to Molly.

**Before he had time to feel inside his mouth, however, his tongue had unraveled again. The other two seemed to have experienced the same unpleasant sensation. Ron was making retching noises; Hermione stammered,**

"Tongue tying curse" Remus said out loud.

**"That m-must have b-been the T-Tongue-Tying Curse Mad-Eye set up for Snape!" Gingerly Harry took another step forward. Something shifted in the shadows at the end of the hall, and before any of them could say another word, a figure had risen up out of the carpet, tall, dust-colored, and terrible;  
**  
Ginny closed her eyes as Neville continued to read.

**Hermione screamed and so did Mrs. Black, her curtains flying open; the gray figure was gliding toward them, faster and faster, its waist-length hair and beard streaming behind it, its face sunken, fleshless, with empty eye sockets.  
**  
Lily and Molly whimpered as Fabian and Gideon vomited on the floor. They had always had a weak stomach. McGonagall vanished the mess as the twins gave their uncles some of their products.

"It helps with the nausea." George told them at there uneasy looks. They shrugged and ate the candy.

**Horribly familiar, dreadfully altered, it raised a wasted arm, pointing at Harry.  
"No!" Harry shouted, and though he had raised his wand no spell occurred to him. "No! It wasn't us! We didn't kill you"**

"Oh god is that-" Lily whimpered out.

"It must me" Sirius said.

"What the bloody hell was Mad-Eye thinking?" James yelled.

"It was made for Snape not Harry or the kids" Tonks said defensly.

"Still an image of Dumbledore?" Charlie asked, though no one had an answer.

**On the word kill, the figure exploded in a great cloud of dust: Coughing, his eyes watering, Harry looked around to see Hermione crouched on the floor by the door with her arms over her head, and Ron, who was shaking from head to foot, patting her clumsily on the shoulder and saying, "It's all r-right... It's g-gone..."**

"Hes terrified!" Molly shrieked "And I cant help my baby!" Arthur held his wife.

"Its alright, hes alright." He repeated.

**Dust swirled around Harry like mist, catching the blue gaslight, as Mrs. Black continued to scream.**

**"Mudbloods, filth, stains of dishonor, taint of shame on the house of my fathers"**

"SHUT UP" Sirius yelled at the book. Neville spit on the floor.

"Sorry but saying the words out loud left a horrible taste in my mouth"

**"SHUT UP!" Harry bellowed, directing his wand at her, and with a bang and a burst of red sparks, the curtains swung shut again, silencing her.**

Sirius smiled.

**"That... that was..." Hermione whimpered, as Ron helped her to her feet.**

"Poor Mione" Ginny whispered as Luna layed a hand on her hand.

**"Yeah," said Harry, "but it wasn't really him, was it? Just something to scare Snape." Had it worked, Harry wondered, or had Snape already blasted the horror-figure aside as casually as he had killed the real Dumbledore?**

McGonagall sniffed and dabbed at her watery eyes. It was so sad that Harry saw that but she couldn't image how he felt at that moment seeing a ghost Dumbledore explode.

**Nerves still tingling, he led the other two up the hall, half-expecting some new terror to reveal itself, but nothing moved except for a mouse skittering along the skirting board.**

"Well Kreacher never liked cleaning" Sirius said coldly "Or not for me anyways"

**"Before we go any farther, I think we'd better check," whispered Hermione, and she raised her wand and said, "Homenum revelio." Nothing happened.**

"That's good" Bill said smiling at the book.

**"Well, you've just had a big shock," said Ron kindly. "What was that supposed to do?"**

Everyone laughed lightly.

"Ronald" Molly shook her head with a small smile. She dabbed her eyes then sat up straight.  
**  
"It did what I meant it to do!" said Hermione rather crossly. "That was a spell to reveal human presence, and there's nobody here except us!"  
**  
"Good" Everyone yelled.

**"And old Dusty," said Ron, glancing at the patch of carpet from which the corpse-figure had risen.**

Luna's smile faltered "I hope they don't get nightmares, I would"

**"Let's go up," said Hermione with a frightened look at the same spot, and she led the way up the creaking stairs to the drawing room on the first floor.**

**Hermione waved her wand to ignite the old gas lamps, then, shivering slightly in the drafty room, she perched on the sofa, her arms wrapped tightly around her. Ron crossed to the window and moved the heavy velvet curtains aside an inch.**

Kingsley nodded "They should check to see if anyone was outside."

**"Can't see anyone out there," he reported. "And you'd think, if Harry still had a Trace on him, they'd have followed us here. I know they can't get in the house, but what's up, Harry?"**

James and Lily tensed.

**Harry had given a cry of pain: His scar had burned against as something flashed across his mind like a bright light on water. He saw a large shadow and felt a fury that was not his own pound through his body, violent and brief as an electric shock.  
**  
"No no no" Lily yelped.

"Its okay, he's been through this" James whispered to her though even he knew it wasn't okay.

"Its his scar?" Sirius asked. James nodded. Everyone looked at Neville who got the message and read.

**"What did you see?" Ron asked, advancing on Harry. "Did you see him at my place?"**

**"No, I just felt anger he's really angry"**

**"But that could be at the Burrow," said Ron loudly. "What else? Didn't you see anything? Was he cursing someone?"**

"Oh Ron you have no tact!" Ginny yelled out "He doesn't know every bloody detail, just leave him alone!"

**"No, I just felt anger, I couldn't tell" Harry felt badgered, confused, and Hermione did not help as she said in a frightened voice,**

**"Your scar, again? But what's going on? I thought that connection had closed!"**

"Its not that simple" Remus frowned.

**"It did, for a while," muttered Harry; his scar was still painful, which made it hard to concentrate. "I…I think it's started opening again whenever he loses control, that's how it used to"**

Sirius wanted to go to his godson and hold him. Harry and he had talked about everything from girls to pain. He had told him about his scar but Sirius never imaged it to be this bad.  
**  
"But then you've got to close your mind!" said Hermione shrilly. "Harry, Dumbledore didn't want you to use that connection, he wanted you to shut it down, that's why you were supposed to use Occlumency! Otherwise Voldemort can plant false images in your mind, remember-"**

Ginny glared at the book "Hermione should know that that's like a slap in the face"

"**Yeah, I do remember, thanks," said Harry through gritted teeth; he did not need Hermione to tell him that Voldemort had once used this selfsame connection between them to lead him into a trap, nor that it had resulted in Sirius's death.**

Sirius flinched. "It wasn't his fault"

"We know that Pads but he blames himself" Remus said.

"He shouldn't I was the idiot who-"

"Your not an idiot for wanting to save my son, your godson!" James yelled.

"Yea, and Harry should know that as should you" Lily ended with a soft sad smile at Sirius. She had watched him when he died and seen him beat himself up for

leaving Harry behind. It took them forever to make him stop just watching Harry when he arrived at Heavan. He didnt even want to talk to James at first.

**He wished that he had not told them what he had seen and felt; it made Voldemort more threatening, as though he were pressing against the window of the room, and still the pain in his scar was building and he fought it: It was like resisting the urge to be sick.**

Molly frowned as did the others.

**He turned his back on Ron and Hermione, pretending to examine the old tapestry of the Black family tree on the wall. Then Hermione shrieked:**

Everyone in the room went tensed and Neville could not read fast enough.

**Harry drew his wand again and spun around to see a silver Patronus soar through the drawing room window and land upon the floor in front of them, where it solidified into the weasel that spoke with the voice of Ron's father.**

"Family safe, do not reply, we are being watched."

**The Patronus dissolved into nothingness.  
**  
"God Arthur your Patronus gave me a heart attack" Tonks said. Mr. Weasley only smiled sheepishly at her.

**Ron let out a noise between a whimper and a groan and dropped onto the sofa: Hermione joined him, gripping his arm.**

"They're all right, they're all right!" she whispered, and Ron half laughed and hugged her.

Molly smiled at the book.

**"Harry," he said over Hermione's shoulder, "I-"**

**"It's not a problem," said Harry, sickened by the pain in his head. "It's your family, 'course you were worried. I'd feel the same way." He thought of Ginny. "I do feel the same way."**

Lily's eyes again drifted to the young read head who stole her son's heart. At the moment she was blushing as everyone was looking at her but Lily could see that she had a twinkle in her eyes that matched her sad smile.

**The pain in his scar was reaching a peak, burning as it had back in the garden of the Burrow. Faintly he heard Hermione say**

**"I don't want to be on my own. Could we use the sleeping bags I've brought and camp in here tonight?" He heard Ron agree. He could not fight the pain much longer. He had to succumb.**

"Normally I would disagree with boys and girls sleeping in the same room" McGonagall started sternly "But I don't think they should separate" She finished.

**"Bathroom," he muttered, and he left the room as fast as he could without running. He barely made it:  
**  
"He's such a bad liar" Fred teased. Lily laughed

"Gets it from his father" James smirked.

"Does not, you on the other hands Lils are the worst liar ever" Lily blushed but said nothing more.

**Bolting the door behind him with trembling hands, he grasped his pounding head and fell to the floor, then in an explosion of agony, he felt the rage that did not belong to him possess his soul, saw a long room lit only by firelight, and the giant blond Death Eater on the floor, screaming and writhing, and a slighter figure standing over him, wand outstretched, while Harry spoke in a high, cold, merciless voice.**

The room flinched and held their breaths.

"Is he?" Charlie asked.

"Yes, in Voldemort's mind" James said his voice cold.

**"More, Rowle, or shall we end it and feed you to Nagini? Lord Voldemort is not sure that he will forgive this time... You called me back for this, to tell me that Harry Potter has escaped again? Draco, give Rowle another taste of our displeasure... Do it, or feel my wrath yourself!"  
**  
McGonagall's breath drew in. "He's is making Draco? How could he? He is just a child!"

"He's a Malfoy" Sirius and the twins spat

"It matters not he is still a child" Molly said with a glare at her boys.

"So? He was born a death eater" Sirius growled.

"Like you?" Lily asked

"I would NEVER. How dare you-" Sirius didn't get to finish

"You were born a Black so you are a Black. Your family is all death eater lovers are you?" Sirius shook his head "Then why is the name Malfoy different from Black?

Why is Draco a bad person for being forced to do something?" Sirius had no answers so he just stayed quiet. Lily was proud of her argument.

**A log fell in the fire: Flames reared, their light darting across a terrified, pointed white face with a sense of emerging from deep water, Harry drew heaving breaths and opened his eyes.**

Relief filled everyone in the room. Happy now that Harry was not in the mind of the murder and phycopath.

**He was spread-eagled on the cold black marble floor, his nose inches from one of the silver serpent tails that supported the large bathtub. He sat up.**

**Malfoy's gaunt, petrified face seemed burned on the inside of his eyes. Harry felt sickened by what he had seen, by the use to which Draco was now being put by Voldemort.**

Lily smiled slightly. Her son was thinking just like her. Sirius seemed to think so as well because his shoulders slumped in defeat.

**There was a sharp rap on the door, and Harry jumped as Hermione's voice rang out.  
**  
**"Harry, do you want your toothbrush? I've got it here."**

The mothers in the room and the woman smiled. Hermione would defenitly take care of the boys.

**"Yeah, great, thanks," he said, fighting to keep his voice casual as he stood up to let her in.  
**  
Neville read the last line then looked up. He handed the book to Tonks

"Well that was interesting" Bill commented. "Though now we know were they went."

"I hope the next chapter wont be as actional as this one" Molly said with out thinking. All of a sudden the room groaned.

"What?" The mother of seven asked.

"You just jinxed it!" The three remanding Marauder's yelled.

"Now we just have to read and find out" Tonks said in a bright voice.

"Who should read next?" She turned the page and read the title "Um nevermind I think Sirius should read the next chapter"

"Me?" Sirius asked "Why me? What's the chapter called?"

"Kreacher's tale" Tonks said grimly.

**So what did you think? What did you think about the whole Malfoy thing at the end? And is it just more, or does Sirius sound more happy now that he is dead? If you think yes he does, let me know why you think he does!**

**Review (:**

**Update will be probably be tomorrow if I get reviews if not then Ill update on Sunday (:**


	3. Kreacher's Tale

**Hello everyone, so here is another chapter. I was not able to edit this twice, so if there is a few mistakes then I am sorry and I will edit them later. IF THAT BOTHERS YOU THEN DO NOT READ TILL I EDIT. Also please review and let me know what you think**

* * *

"Who should read next?" She turned the page and read the title "Um never mind I think Sirius should read the next chapter"

"Me?" Sirius asked "Why me? What's the chapter called?"

"Kreacher's tale" Tonks said grimly.

Sirius shook his head quickly

"No! I don't want to read" He said stubbornly. "He's a stupid elf, and I hate him and this stupid chapter" Remus sighed

"Ill read Dora" Tonks nodded and handed her husband the book. She looked at Sirius who had his arms crossed and his face set as stone.

**Harry woke early next morning, wrapped in a sleeping bag on the drawing room floor. A chink of sky was visible between the heavy curtains. It was the cool, clear blue of watered ink, somewhere between night and dawn, and everything was quiet except for Ron and Hermione's slow, deep breathing.**

"He better wake them up if he leaves" Mrs. Weasley said slowly.

**Harry glanced over at the dark shapes they made on the floor beside him. Ron had had a fit of gallantry and insisted that Hermione sleep on the cushions from the sofa, so that her silhouette was raised above his.**

Lily and Molly smiled. That was thoughtful of Ron to do. Ginny seemed to be thinking the same thing, though she and her brothers thought it funny.

**Her arm curved to the floor, her fingers inches from Ron's. Harry wondered whether they had fallen asleep holding hands. The idea made him feel strangely lonely**

"You don't think they did fall asleep holding hands do you?" Fred asked his twin. George smirked.

"Most defiantly"

"Your not going to let them live this down are you?" Sirius asked making sure Mrs. Weasley couldn't hear them. Fred and George shook there heads.

**He looked up at the shadowy ceiling, the cobwebbed chandelier. Less than twenty—four house ago, he had been standing in the sunlight at the entrance to the marquee, waiting to show in wedding guests. It seemed a lifetime away. What was going to happen now? He lay on the floor and he thought of the Horcruxes, of the daunting complex mission Dumbledore had left him. . . . Dumbledore**

"The poor boy" McGonagall suddenly said "He misses him so much and the awful Seeker woman is making him so confused."

Remus' face scrunched up at the word horcux as if he should know what the term meant. He decided to keep his curiosity and the term in the back of his mind, after all he was sure the book would define what it meant sooner or later.

**The grief that had possessed him since Dumbledore's death felt different now. The accusations he had heard from Muriel at the wedding seemed to have nested in his brain like diseased things, infecting his memories of the wizard he had idolized**.

"Aunt Muriel is just as bad as Rita" Molly huffed.

**Could Dumbledore have let such things happen? Had he been like Dudley, content to watch neglect and abuse as long as it did not affect him?  
**  
"No Harry No" Lily whispered. "Why is he thinking like this?" Lily asked her husband who only shrugged his shoulders.

**Could he have turned his back on a sister who was being imprisoned and hidden? Harry thought of Godric's Hollow, of graves Dumbledore had never mentioned there; he thought of mysterious objects left without explanation in Dumbledore's will, and resentment swelled in the darkness. Why hadn't Dumbledore told him? Why hadn't he explained? Had Dumbledore actually cared about Harry at all? Or had Harry been nothing more than a tool to be polished and honed, but not trusted, never confided in?**

Lily, Molly, McGonagall and Ginny growled.

"What the hell is wrong with him? Why is he thinking like a git?" Ginny asked the room. No one had an answer for the young red headed witch.

**Harry could not stand lying there with nothing but bitter thoughts for company. Desperate for something to do, for distraction, he slipped out of his sleeping bag, picked up his wand, and crept out of the room.  
**  
"He left alone!" Molly yelled "He left alone in Sirius' old house" Now Sirius looked uneasy as well. He hoped his godson wouldn't get cursed or something in that evil house.

**On the landing he whispered, "Lumos," and started to climb the stairs by wandlight. On the second landing was the bedroom in which he and Ron had slept last time they had been here; he glanced into it. The wardrobe doors stood open and the bedclothes had been ripped back.**

"Some ones been in the house?" Bill asked "I mean other then Mundungus?" The Order members shook their heads.

**Harry remembered the overturned troll leg downstairs. Somebody had searched the house since the Order had left. Snape? Or perhaps Mundungus, who had pilfered plenty from this house both before and after Sirius died?**

Sirius growled. He didn't care about the stuff, but still it was still stealing from him.

**Harry's gaze wandered to the portrait that sometimes contained Phineas Nigellus Black, Sirius's great-great-grandfather, but it was empty, showing nothing but a stretch of muddy backdrop. Phineas Nigellus was evidently spending the night in the headmaster's study at Hogwarts.**

Harry continued up the stairs until he reached the topmost landing where there were only two doors. The one facing him bore a nameplate reading Sirius.

Sirius shifted in his chair uneasily. He knew his room had things that he knew Lily, Mrs. Weasley, and McGonagall would not approve of.

**Harry had never entered his godfather's bedroom before. **

"Its okay to go in" Sirius whispered, no one heard him but James who sent him a sad smile. James knew Sirius loved Harry just as much as he did.

**He pushed open the door, holding his wand high to cast light as widely as possible. The room was spacious and must once have been handsome**.

"It was" Sirius sighed

**There was a large bed with a carved wooden headboard, a tall window obscured by long velvet curtains and a chandelier thickly coated in dust with candle scrubs still resting in its sockets, solid wax banging in frostlike drips. A fine film of dust covered the pictures on the walls and the bed's headboard; a spiders web stretched between the chandelier and the top of the large wooden wardrobe, and as Harry moved deeper into the room, he head a scurrying of disturbed mice**.

"Sounds like your room hasn't changed" Remus said playfully. Sirius growled at him lightly.

"Shut up Moony, my room was always clean" Remus snorted.. Before Sirius could reply Remus began reading again.

**The teenage Sirius had plastered the walls with so many posters and pictures that little of the walls silvery-gray silk was visible. Harry could only assume that Sirius's parents had been unable to remove the Permanent Sticking Charm that kept them on the wall because he was sure they would not have appreciated their eldest son's taste in decoration.**

Sirius laughed "They didn't! Mother had a fit about it but she couldn't get it off the wall." Sirius smiled at the memory of his angry mother. James saw mischief in his best friends eyes and knew what he must have been remembering.

**Sirius seemed to have lone gone out of his way to annoy his parents. There were several large Gryffindor banners, faded scarlet and hold just to underline his difference from all the rest of the Slytherin family.**

"And proud of it" Sirius yelled and all the Gryffindor's in the room clapped. Sirius stood up and took a small bow, making the room laugh. Molly let it go on for a bit but soon reminded them that they should get back to reading.

**There were many pictures of Muggle motorcycles, and also (Harry had to admire Sirius's nerve) several posters of bikini-clad Muggle girls.**

"SIRIUS" The girls in the room yelled. Sirius smiled sheepishly and then pointed out that Harry admired his nerve.

**Harry could tell that they were Muggles because they remained quite stationary within their pictures, faded smiles and glazed eyes frozen on the paper. This was in contrast the only Wizarding photograph on the walls which was a picture of four Hogwarts students standing arm in arm, laughing at the camera.  
**  
Sirius stiffened, as did James and Remus.

"Is that-?" James asked. Sirius nodded quickly.

**With a leap of pleasure, Harry recognized his father, his untidy black hair stuck up at the back like Harry's, and he too wore glasses**.

James grinned happily.

**Beside him was Sirius, carelessly handsome, his slightly arrogant face so much younger and happier than Harry had ever seen it alive.  
**  
"Carelessly Handsome?" Sirius asked "Please i'm down right sexy!"

"Sirius" Lily said "Please James is way sexier then you" Sirius looked hurt as James kissed his wife on the cheek then smirked at him.

**To Sirius's right stood Pettigrew, more than a head shorter, plump and watery-eyed, flushed with pleasure at his inclusion in this coolest of gangs, with the much admired rebels that James and Sirius had been.**

The Marauder's growled as did the rest of the room. Peter did not deserve to be in that photo. James spat on the floor as Sirius used some of his favorite curse words. Remus just continued to read and ignored ever reading about his once friend but his tone had changed and everyone in the room could tell that the mention of said _friend _opened wounds that never really healed for the old werewolf.

**On James's left was Lupin, even then a little shabbylooking, but he had the same air of delighted surprise at finding himself liked and included or was it simply because Harry knew how it had been, that he saw these things in the picture?**

Remus smiled fondly at what he had just read.

"Harry is really observant" He told James and Lily who just smiled proudly.

**He tried to take it from the wall; it was his now, after all, Sirius had left him everything, but it would not budge.**

"Sorry pup" Sirius said "Only I can take it off the wall" Now looking back he wished he had given it to Harry. This, like many other things, was something he wished he had done. It was foolish of him to think he would always be there for Harry, after all hadn't he thought James would always be there with him as well?

James noticed his friend had stopped listening to the story. He let out a sigh, he wished he could take all the feelings that Sirius felt about leaving Harry away, but he knew he couldn't, and that the only one who could was Sirius himself. After all he should know, he had to go through the exact same feelings his best mate was going through a mere 16 years ago. Even till this day, he fought with his emotions on leaving Harry, never getting over them but learning to live with them or not live with them or whatever since he was dead and not living.

**Sirius had taken no chances in preventing his parents from redecorating his room. Harry looked around at the floor. The sky outside was growing brightest. A shaft of light revealed bits of paper, books, and small objects scattered over the carpet. Evidently Sirius's bedroom had been searched too, although its contents seemed to have been judged mostly, if not entirely, worthless.**

"THAT SNEAK WAS IN MY ROOM" Sirius yelled. He had died for goodness sake and Mundungus fucken searched his room for treasures? Sirius couldn't stop himself from growling over and over again.

**A few of the books had been shaken roughly enough to part company with the covers and sundry pages littered the floor. Harry bent down, picked up a few of the pieces of paper, and examined them. He recognized one as a part of an old edition of A History of Magic, by Barhilda Bagshot, and another as belonging to a motorcycle maintenance manual. The third was handwritten and crumpled. He smoothed it out.**

Sirius stiffened. Was that-?

_**Dear Padfoot,  
**_

_**Thank you, thank you, for Harry's birthday present! It was his favorite by far. One year old and already zooming along on a toy broomstick, he looked so pleased with himself. I'm enclosing a picture so you can see. You know it only rises about two feet off the ground but  
he nearly killed the cat and he smashed a horrible vase Petunia sent me for Christmas (no complaints there). Of course James thought it was so funny, says he's going to be a great Quidditch player**_

"And he sure as hell was!" James interrupted proudly.

"What is this?" Charlie asked

"A letter I wrote Sirius" Lily said with a ghostly smile, it seemed so long ago.

_**but we've had to pack away all the ornaments and make sure we don't take our eyes off him when he gets going. We had a very quiet birthday tea, just us and old Bathilda who has always been sweet to us and who dotes on Harry. We were so sorry you couldn't come, but the Order's got to come first, and Harry's not old enough to know it's his birthday anyway! James is getting a bit frustrated shut up here, he tries not to show it but I can tell  
**_  
James smiled at his wife, she knew him so well. Lily kissed him lightly on the cheek. The room watched the happy couple that had died too young. Ginny watched them hungrily but not for herself, no after this was done and over and when Harry, yes Harry would survive this, she would show him her memories and show him his mother and father being happy. Hopefully after the book ended, she could get his mum and dad to leave him a message, even if he would only receive it through her memories.

a_**lso Dumbledore's still got his Invisibility Cloak, so no chance of little excursions. If you could visit, it would cheer him up so much. Wormy was here last weekend.  
**_  
Sirius, James and Remus growled. Lily was angry as well but she didn't let it show.

_**I thought he seemed down**_

"Bloody seemed down did he!? Wonder why" Sirius said sarcastically. James just glared at the book. It was one thing to betray friends but another to betray family. Guess _Wormy _was to stupid to see what he had right in front of him, James thought bitterly.

_**but that was probably the next about the McKinnons; I cried all evening when I heard. Bathilda drops in most days, she's a fascinating old thing with the most amazing stories about Dumbledore. I'm not sure he'd be pleased if he knew! I don't know how much to believe, actually because it seems incredible that Dumbledore  
**_  
"Dumbledore what?" Neville asked.

"Doesn't say" Remus said as he read the last paragraph again but found nothing.

"Oh"

**Harry's extremities seemed to have gone numb. He stood quite still, holding the miraculous paper in his nerveless fingers while inside him a kind of quiet eruptions sent joy and grief thundering its equal measure through his veins.**

"Oh Harry" Lily said softly.

**Lurching to the bed, he sat down. He read the letter again, but could not take in any more meaning than he had done the first time, and was reduced to staring at the handwriting itself. She had made her "g"s the same way he did.  
**  
Lily smiled as tears once again streamed down her face. Even Fred and George did not have the heart to make fun of the fact that Harry wrote like a girl. No, even they knew that in the book Harry was having a moment, a connection or sorts with his mother. The same mother who seemed to be having a connection with her son, in the very same room as them.

**He searched through the letter for every one of them, and each felt like a friendly little wave glimpsed from behind a veil. The letter was an incredible treasure, proof that Lily Potter had lived, really lived, that her warm hand had once moved across this parchment, tracing ink into these letters, these words, words about him, Harry, her son.**

Lily couldn't take it anymore as she broke down completely. She cryed into James shoulder as she asked him repeatedly why they were taken from their son. She wanted Harry, she wanted her son. James held her wishing nothing more then to give her what she wanted, what he wanted as well.

**Impatiently brushing away the wetness in his eyes, he reread the letter, this time concentrating on the meaning. It was like listening to a half-remembered voice.  
They had a cat . . . perhaps it had perished, like his parents at Godric's Hollow. . . or else fled when there was nobody left to feed it. . . Sirius had bought him his first broomstick . . . His parents had known Bathilda Bagshot; had Dumbledore introduced them? Dumbledore's still got his Invisibility Cloak. . . there was something funny there . . . Harry paused, pondering his mother's words.  
**  
"Dawn" Lily whispered.

"What?" Ginny asked as the room stopped reading and turned to Lily.

"Dawn" Lily said again "Our cats name was Dawn. She loved Harry, I don't know what happened to her. James?" James shrugged he didn't know what was the fate of their beloved cat Dawn.

**Why had Dumbledore taken James's Invisibility Cloak? Harry distinctly remembered his headmaster telling him years before, "I don't need a cloak to become invisible" Perhaps some less gifted Order member had needed its assistance, and Dumbledore had acted as a carrier?**

James frowned "No, he just said he wanted to look at it"

"Dumbledore just wanted to look at your cloak?" Bill asked. James nodded as the thought back to the day Dumbledore had asked him for it.

**Harry passed on. . . .Wormy was here . . .Pettigrew, the traitor, had seemed "down" had he? Was he aware that he was seeing James and Lily alive for the last time?**

"Bloody damn rat" Sirius growled out "When he dies i'm going to kill him again." James snorted. Sirius looked at him oddly.

"What?" James asked "You think Pettigrew will make it to heaven? No the rat is going to damn hell. I don't even want to see him" James began to turn red as he thought of the traitor who had turned in him and his wife. He hoped Pettigrew went to him, and if by some odd fate, he made it to heaven, well then he and Sirius would gladly make sure he wished he was in hell. After all, there is only so much to do in heaven and getting some revenge seemed like a great way to spend it.

**And finally Bathilda again, who told incredible stories about Dumbledore. It seems incredible that Dumbledore—That Dumbledore what? But there were any number of things that would seem incredible about Dumbledore; that he had once received bottom marks in  
a Transfiguration test, for instance or had taken up goat charming like Aberforth. . .Harry got to his feet and scanned the floor: Perhaps the rest of the letter was here somewhere. He seized papers, treating them in his eagerness, with as little consideration as the original searcher, he pulled open drawers, shook out books, stood on a chair to run his hand over the top of the wardrobe, and crawled under the bed and armchair.**

"Its okay" Sirius laughed "Just make more mess, I don't mind" No one said a word to the mutts crazy sense of humor, though as Remus read, everyone could easily tell that the corners of his lips were turned up.

Tonks, like everyone else, noticed that Remus was smiling as he read. She sighed lightly, her husband hadn't smiled as much as he was right now. She was scared to think how he would be when the book ended and his life long friends, the ones he missed so much, would end and leave with the book.

**At last, lying facedown on the floor, he spotted what looked like a torn piece of paper under the chest of drawers. When he pulled it out, it proved to be most of the photograph that Lily had described in her letter. A black-haired baby was zooming in and out of the picture on a tiny broom, roaring with laughter, and a pair of legs that must have belonged to James was chasing after him.  
**

"That's odd" Sirius commented his face looking puzzled.

"Wait that's the picture you should me the summer before you...you know. Wasn't it whole?" Remus asked. Sirius nodded

"Yeah it had James in it laughing and chasing Harry. Who would tare him out of it?" Remus shrugged but non the less continued reading.

**Harry tucked the photograph into his pocket with Lily's letter and continued to look for the second sheet. After another quarter of an hour, however he was forced to conclude that the rest of his mother's letter was gone. Had it simply been lost in the sixteen years that had elapsed since it had been written, or had it been taken by whoever had searched the room? Harry read the first sheet again, this time looking for clues as to what might have made the second sheet valuable. His toy broomstick could hardly be considered interesting to the Death Eaters . . . The only potentially useful thing he could see her was possible information on Dumbledore. It seems incredible that Dumbledore—what?  
**

"**Harry? Harry? Harry!"  
**  
"Told him he should have woken them up" Molly said "Now he got them all worried"

"Mom you do know this is a book right?" Charlie asked with a smirk.

"Yes I do" Molly said though she couldn't hide the blush that had crept upon her face.

**"I'm here!" he called, "What's happened?"  
**

**There was a clatter of footsteps outside the door, and Hermione burst inside. "We woke up and didn't know where you were!" she said breathlessly. She turned and shouted over her shoulder, "Ron! I've found him"  
**

**Ron's annoyed voice echoed distantly from several floors below. "Good! Tell him from me he's a git!"  
**  
The room laughed, Fred, George, Fabian, and Gideon the loudest.

**"Harry don't just disappear, please, we were terrified! Why did you come up here anyway?" She gazed around the ransacked room. "What have you been doing?"**

"Look what I've just found" He held out his mother's letter. Hermione took it out and read it while Harry watched her. When she reached the end of the page she looked up at him.

"**Oh Harry . . . "  
**  
Lily smiled. She had said the same thing. Hermione really was the mother influence of the group, and Lily was glad she was looking after her Harry.

**"And there's this too." He handed her the torn photograph, and Hermione smiled at the baby zooming in and out of sight on the toy broom.  
**  
Ginny smiled at the image in her head as well. She only wished she could see it for her self.

**"I've been looking for the rest of the letter," Harry said, "but it's not here" Hermione glanced around.  
**

"**Did you make all this mess, or was some of it done when you got here?"  
**

"**Someone had searched before me," said Harry.  
**

"**I thought so. Every room I looked into on the way up had been disturbed. What were they after, do you think?"  
**

"**Information on the Order, if it was Snape"**

"Git" Sirius said his voice filling with hatred as James nodded.

**"But you'd think he'd already have all he needed. I mean was in the Order, wasn't he?"  
**

"**Well then," said Harry, keen to discuss his theory, "what about information on Dumbledore? The second page of the letter, for instance. You know this Bathilda my mum mentions, you know who she is?"**

"**Who?"  
**

"**Bathilda Bagshot, the author of—"  
**

"**A History of Magic," said Hermione, looking interested**.

"I'm surprised Harry knew that" Ginny joked. The room laughed though James pouted

"My son was smart" Ginny shook her head.

"Your son was and is brilliant" James smiled at the young red head.

**"So your parents knew her? She was an incredible magic historian."  
**

"**And she's still alive," said Harry, "and she lives in Godric's Hollow. Ron's Auntie Muriel was talking about her at the wedding. She knew Dumbledore's family too. Be pretty interesting to talk to, wouldn't she?"  
**

**There was a little too much understanding in the smile Hermione gave him for Harry's liking. He took back the letter and the photograph and tucked them inside the pouch around his neck, so as not to have to look at her and give himself away.  
**

"**I understand why you'd love to talk to her about, and Dumbledore too," said Hermione. "But that wouldn't really help us in our search for the Horcruxes,  
would it?"  
**  
"How does she know that?" Fred asked "I mean she doesn't for all they know she could have information for them and that's the second time they mention horcruxes, what is it?"

The others in the room said nothing, only because they new nothing. However Kingsley did say "There is not much known about horcrux is so I cant give you a definition of what they are. All I know is they they are very dark magic and Dumbledore himself got rid of every book that ever mentioned them."

**Harry did not answer, and she rushed on, "Harry, I know you really want to go to Godric's Hollow, but I'm scared. I'm scared at how easily those Death Eaters found us yesterday. It just makes me feel more than ever that we ought to avoid the place where your parents are buried, I'm sure they'd be expecting you to visit it."**

"It's true" James said "Sad. But true" He wondered briefly if he would know that his son visited his grave. Something inside him told him that yes he would know and feel that his son was next to the last remains that he had on the earth of himself.

**"It's not just that," Harry said, still avoiding looking at her, "Muriel said stuff about Dumbledore at the wedding. I want to know the truth. . . . "  
He told Hermione everything that Muriel had told him. When he had finished, Hermione said, "Of course, I can see why that's upset you, Harry-"**

"**I'm not upset," he lied, "I'd just like to know whether or not it's true or-"**

"He really is a bad liar. Like one time when we went to the Slytherin...common room...umm never mind" Fred and George stopped as McGonagall and their mother shot them glares.

**"Harry do you really think you'll get the truth from a malicious old woman like Muriel, or from Rita Skeeter? How can you believe them? You knew Dumbledore!"  
**

"**I thought I did," he muttered.**

"He's also stubborn" Ginny said with a shake of her head. James grinned and turned to Lily.

"Don't even say anything James" Lily glared at her husband who grinned sheepishly at her.

"I wont" He waited a few seconds before he said "He gets it from his mother" and then laughed. Lily growled as the room laughed at the couple.

"I wouldn't talk" Lily shot back "I wasn't the one who chased after a girl for seven years and wouldn't take no for an answer! Now that's stubborn"

"No my lily-flower, that is not being stubborn" James said with the widest of smiles Lily had ever seen.

"Oh?" She said with one elegant eyebrow raised "then what would you call it _Potter_" she asked referring to him by the name she had called him all those years he had chased her.

"Being in love" James said simple but the meaning behind those words hit Lily hard. She did not fight him anymore because there was no use, her husband was right.

The couple were not aware that the others were watching them nor that Ginny was watching them hungrily. Not for herself, no she watched them for Harry. For when he saw her memories he would love this moment. Tears trickled down her faces at the thought.

This was definitely a memory she was going to show him after the war.

"**But you know how much truth there was in everything Rita wrote about you! Doge is right, how can you let these people tarnish your memories of Dumbledore?"**

**He looked away, trying not to betray the resentment he felt. There it was again: Choose what to believe. He wanted the truth. **

**Why was everybody so determined that he should not get it?  
"Shall we go down to the kitchen?" Hermione suggested after a little pause.  
"Find something for breakfast?"  
**  
"Doubt there's food in the house" Sirius muttered.

**He agreed, but grudgingly, and followed her out onto the landing and past the second door that led off it. There were deep scratch marks in the paintwork below a small sign that he had not noticed in the dark. He passed at the top of the stairs to read it. It was a porapous little sign, neatly lettered by hand the sort of thing that Percy Weasley might have stuck on his bedroom door.**

**Do Not Enter Without the Express Permission of  
Regulus Arcturus Black  
**  
"Gits" Ginny, Fred, George, and Sirius said at the same time.

**Excitement trickled through Harry, but he was not immediately sure why. He read the sign again. Hermione was already a flight of stairs below him.**

"**Hermione," he said, and he was surprised that his voice was so calm.  
**  
"That happens to me too" James said with a smile remebering all the prabks he had gotteb sest with becausehe was able to keep his voice under control and not give away the fact that  
he was excited. It was a trait the Peter and Remus did not have and because of it, they got more detentions. Sirius did not have to worry because he was a natural just like him.

"**Come back up here."**

"**What's the matter?"**

"**R.A.B. I think I've found him."**

"Why would they care about my brother?" Sirius asked curiously. The others just shrugged.

**There was a gasp, and then Hermione ran back up the stairs.**

"**In your mum's letter? But I didn't see-"**

**Harry shook his head, pointing at Regulus's sign. She read it, then clutched Harry's arm so tightly that he winced.**

"**Sirius's brother?" she whispered.**

"**He was a Death Eater," said Harry. "Sirius told me about him, he joined up when he was really young and then got cold feet and tried to leave—so they killed him."**

Sirius glared at the book but didn't say anything. After all it wasn't their fault that his brother was a good for nothing death eater kissing ass.

"**That fits!" gasped Hermione. "If he was a Death Eater he had access to Voldemort, and if he became disenchanted, then he would have wanted to bring Voldemort down!"  
**  
Sirius gasped in shock. Could his brother actually be good?

"It cant be" Sirius was shaking his head as James tried to calm him down.

"Its okay Pads lets just hear the rest and see what happens."

**She released Harry, leaned over the banister, and screamed, "Ron! RON! Get up here, quick!"**

**Ron appeared, panting, a minute later, his wand ready in his hand.**

"**What's up? If it's massive spiders again I want breakfast before I-"  
**  
Fred and George laughed, but soon stopped when their mother hit them on the side of the head.

**He frowned at the sign on Regulus's door, in which Hermione was silently pointing.**

"**What? That was Sirius's brother, wasn't it? Regulus Arcturus . . . Regulus. . . R.A.B.! The locket—you don't reckon—?"**

"Wow" Ginny laughed "He's slow" Luna giggled as Neville just smirked.

"**Let's find out," said Harry. He pushed the door: It was locked. Hermione pointed her wand at the handle and said, "Alohamora." There was a click, and the door swung open**.

"Be careful" Sirius whispered "Reg didn't like people in his room"

**They moved over the threshold together, gazing around. Regulus's bedroom was slightly smaller than Sirius's, though it had the same sense of former grandeur. Whereas Sirius had sought to advertise his diffidence from the rest of the family, Regulus had striven to emphasize the opposite. The Slytherin colors of emerald and silver were everywhere, draping the bead, the walls, and the windows. The Black family crest was painstakingly painted over the bed, along with its motto, TOUJOURS PUR. Beneath this was a collection of yellow  
newspaper cuttings, all stuck together to make a ragged collage. Hermione crossed the room to examine them.**

"**They're all about Voldemort," she said. "Regulus seems to have been a fan for a few years before he joined the Death Eaters . . . "  
**  
Sirius returned to glaring at the room as Fred and George pretended to be sick at the image of a Slytherin room.

**A little puff of dust rose from the bedcovers as she sat down to read the clippings. Harry, meanwhile, had noticed another photograph: a Hogwarts Quidditch team was smiling and waving out of the frame. He moved closer and saw the snakes emblazoned on their chests: Slytherins. Regulus was instantly recognizable as the boy sitting in the middle of the front row: He had the same dark hair and slightly haughty look of his brother, though he was smaller, slighter, and rather less handsome than Sirius had been.  
**  
Sirius laughed making everyone jump. "I am sexier see James!" James glared at his best friend and shook his didn't comment back because he knew that even though Sirius was joking, he was hurting inside and was trying tI mask it with hunor. It worjed for others but nit for him, no never for him.

"**He played Seeker," said Harry.**

"Why does that matter?" McGonagall asked. Ginny laughed

"It doesn't just Harry is crazy about Quidditch" James couldn't stop smiling after hearing that.

**"What?" said Hermione vaguely; she was still immersed in Voldemort's press clippings.  
"He's sitting in the middle of the front row, that's where the Seeker . . . Never mind," said Harry, realizing that nobody was listening. Ron was on his hands and knees, searching under the wardrobe. Harry looked around the room for likely hiding places and approached the desk. Yet again, somebody had searched before them. The drawers' contents had been turned over recently, the dust disturbed, but there was nothing of value there: old quills, out-of-date textbooks that bore evidence of being roughly handled, a recently smashed ink bottle, its sticky residue covering the contents of the drawer.**

"**There's an easier way," said Hermione, as Harry wiped his inky fingers on his jeans. She raised her wand and said, "Accio Locket!"**

"I don't think it could be summoned by magic" McGonagall said in her teacher voice.

**Nothing happened. Ron, who had been searching the folds of the faded curtains, looked disappointed.  
**

"**Is that it, then? It's not here?"**

"**Oh, it could still be here, but under counter enchantments," said Hermione. "Charms to prevent it from being summoned magically, you know."**

"**Like Voldemort put on the stone basin in the cave," said Harry, remembering how he had been unable to Summon the fake locket.**

Lily frowned, she hated the things her son had already faced at such a young age.

**"How are we supposed to find it then?" asked Ron.**

"**We search manually," said Hermione.**

"**That's a good idea," said Ron, rolling his eyes, and he resumed his examination of the curtains.**

"Why is-"

"Icky Ronnikins-"

"So interested-"

"In the curtins?" The twins asked together.

**They combed every inch of the room for more than an hour, but were forced, finally, to conclude that the locket was not there. The sun had risen now; its light dazzled them even through the grimy landing  
windows.**

"**It could be somewhere else in the house, though," said Hermione in a rallying tone as they walked back downstairs. As Harry and Ron had become more discouraged, she seemed to have become more determined. **

"**Whether he'd manage to destroy it or not, he'd want to keep it hidden from Voldemort, wouldn't he? Remember all those awful things we had to get rid of when we were here last time? That clock that shot bolts at everyone and those old robe that tried to strangle Ron; Regulus might have put them there to protect the  
locket's hiding place, even though we didn't realize it at . . . at . . ."  
**  
"NO" Sirius yelled

"What?" Lily yelled back shocked at the out burst.

"There was a locket! A locket we couldn't open! We threw it out" Sirius yelled angrily. How could they have been so stupid?

**Harry and Ron looked at her. She was standing with one foot in midair, with the dumbstruck look of one who had just been Obliviated: her eyes had even drifted out of focus.**

"**. . . at the time," she finished in a whisper.**

"**Something wrong?" asked Ron.**

"**There was a locket."**

"**What?" said Harry and Ron together.**

"**In the cabinet in the drawing room. Nobody could open it. And we . . . we. . ."**

**Harry felt as though a brick had slid down through his chest into his stomach. He remembered. He had even handled the thing as they passed it around, each trying in turn to pry it open. It had been tossed into a sack of rubbish, along with the snuffbox of Wartcap powder and the music box that had made everyone sleepy . . . "  
**  
"KREACHER" Sirius yelled again making everyone jump.

"Sirius! Stop yelling" McGonagall said with a glare with one hand over her chest.

"Sorry" Sirius said sheepishly "Kreacher always took thinks from the trash maybe he took it!"

Everyone now looked excited, and motioned for Remus to continue reading.

**"Kreacher nicked loads of things back from us," said Harry. It was the only chance, the only slender hope left to them, and he was going to cling to it until forced to let go. "He had a whole stash of stuff in his cupboard in the kitchen. C'mon."**

Sirius was bouncing in his seat with excitement.  
"Sirius sit still!" Lily scowled. Sirius did as he was told and sat quickly.

**He ran down the stairs taking two steps at a time, the other two thundering along in his wake. They made so much noise that they woke the portrait of Sirius's mother as they passed through the hall.**

"SHUT UP YOU HAG" Sirius yelled out. He didn't have time to think about her, not when his godson was so close!

"**Filth! Mudbloods! Scum!" she screamed after them as they dashed down into the basement kitchen and slammed the door behind them. Harry ran the length of the room, skidded to a halt at the door of Kreacher's cupboard, and wrenched it open. There was the nest of dirty old blankets in which the house-elf had once slept, but they were not longer glittering with the trinkets Kreacher had salvaged. The only thing there was an old copy of Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy.**

The room groaned as Sirius looked at the book with disappointment.

"So close" He muttered.

**Refusing to believe his eyes, Harry snatched up the blankets and shook them. A dead mouse fell out and rolled dismally across the floor. Ron groaned as he threw himself into a kitchen chair; Hermione closed her eyes.**

"**It's not over yet," said Harry, and he raised his voice and called, "Kreacher!"**

"Good thinking Harry" Sirius said already on the edge of his seat again.

**There was a loud crack and the house elf that Harry had so reluctantly inherited from Sirius appeared out of nowhere in front of the cold and empty fireplace: tiny, half human-sized, his pale skin hanging off him in folds, white hair sprouting copiously from his batlike ears. He was still wearing the filthy rag in which they had first met him, and the contemptuous look he bent upon Harry showed that his attitude to his change of ownership had altered no more than his outfit.**

Sirius growled piece of shit deserved nothing but a good beating! However he hoped Harry would take care of that later as the locket was more important at th moment.

"**Master," croaked Kreacher in his bullfrog's voice, and he bowed low; muttering to his knees, "back in my Mistress's old house with the blood-traitor Weasley and the Mudblood-"**

"**I forbid you to call anyone 'blood traitor' or 'Mudblood," growled Harry.**

"Good thinking Harry" Sirius nodded "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because your not smart like my son" Lily gloated.

"I am too Right James?" Sirius said turning to his mate.

"Have to agree with Lils on this Padfoot." Sirius pouted at them as he listened to the story.

**He would have found Kreacher, with his snoutlike nose and bloodshot eyes, a distinctively unlovable object even if the elf had not betrayed Sirius to Voldemort.**

The room heard a loud hiss and when they turned to the source they found a very angry James and Remus.  
Sirius ducked his head. He knew that his friends cared for him very much but still after years and years of being with them it's still hurt to think of how much they cared for him. He guessed he could understand how they felt when they read about him being betrayed because if the roles were reversed he would hiss at them being betrayed as well come to think of it he did.

"**I've got a question for you," said Harry, his heart beating rather fast as he looked down at the elf, "and I order you to answer it truthfully. Understand?"**

"**Yes, Master," said Kreacher, bowing low again. Harry saw his lips moving soundlessly, undoubtedly framing the insults he was now forbidden to utter.**

"**Two years ago," said Harry, his heart now hammering against his ribs, "there was a big gold locket in the drawing room upstairs. We threw it out. Did you steal it back?"**

**There was a moment's silence, during which Kreacher straightened up to look Harry full in the face. Then he said, "Yes."  
**  
"YES!" Everyone in the room yelled. Finally something good was happening to them.

**"Where is it now?" asked Harry jubilantly as Ron and Hermione looked gleeful. Kreacher closed his eyes as though he could not bear to see their reactions to his next word.**

"**Gone."  
**  
"What?" Bill yelled "Dammit"

**"Gone?" echoed Harry, elation floating out of him, "What do you mean, it's gone?" The elf shivered. He swayed.**

"**Kreacher," said Harry fiercely, "I order you-"**

"**Mundungus Fletcher," croaked the elf, his eyes still tight shut.**

"I told you" Molly yelled turning to Sirius "I told you not to let him in the house! Now look"

For once Sirius had no word as he looked down at the floor. James glared at Mrs. Weasley.

"It wasn't his fault" James said his voice tight. "You shouldn't blame serious for something that was out of his control and for one if I recall correctly Dumbledore asked for money Dunkas to be there so don't point your finger at serious" James all but growled at her.

"Yeah Molly Dumbledore wanted him there as well" Kingsley butted in. Molly glared at them but did not apoligues to Sirius.

Because she did not apologize to serious James intern glared at her no matter what she did to Harry no matter how much she took care of him she wasn't going to hurt his best mate who was already hurting on his own. The way James sees it why kick a puppy or a scrappy mutt in Sirius' case, while it's down?

"**Mundungus Fletcher stole it all; Miss Bella's and Miss Cissy's pictures, my Mistress's gloves, the Order of Merlin, First Class, the goblets with the family crest, and—and-" Kreacher was gulping for air: His hollow chest was rising and falling rapidly, then his eyes flew open and he uttered a bloodcurdling scream.**

"—**and the locket, Master Regulus's locket. Kreacher did wrong, Kreacher failed in his orders!"  
**  
"His orders?" Sirius asked faintly. What could Regulus have ordered Kreacher to keep from his _beloved_ parents?

**Harry reacted instinctively: As Kreacher lunged for the poker standing in the grate, he launched himself upon the elf, flattening him. Hermione's scream mingled with Kreacher's but Harry bellowed louder than both of them:**

"**Kreacher, I order you to stay still!"  
He felt the elf freeze and released him. Kreacher lay flat on the cold stone floor, tears gushing from his sagging eyes.**

"Have you ever seen him cry?" George whispered to Sirius who shook his head his own eyes wide. Never had he seen Kreacher show any other emotion besides hatred towards him.

**"Harry, let him up!" Hermione whispered.**

"**So he can beat himself up with the poker?" snorted Harry, kneeling beside the elf. "I don't think so. Right. Kreacher, I want the truth: How do you know  
Mundungus Fletcher stole the locket?"**

"**Kreacher saw him!" gasped the elf as tears poured over his snout and into his mouth full of graying teeth.  
**  
"He must have really loved that locket" Luna said quietly.

"No, he loved Regulus" Sirius corrected the young witch. No matter what can be said and done about the elf of the house of Black one thing that is true is that the elf loved his family and he loves his brother.

"**Kreacher saw him coming out of Kreacher's cupboard with his hands full of Kreacher's treasures. Kreacher told the sneak thief to stop, but Mundungus Fletcher laughed and r-ran. . . ."**

"**You called the locket 'Master Regulus's,"' said Harry. "Why? Where did it come from? What did Regulus have to do with it? Kreacher, sit up and tell me everything you know about that locket, and everything Regulus had to do with it!"**

**The elf sat up, curled into a ball, placed his wet face between his knees, and began to rock backward and forward. When he spoke, his voice was muffled but quite distinct in the silent, echoing kitchen.  
**  
Sirius got ready to hear what he had been waiting to hear. What had really happened to his brother.  
of course he said he didn't care but that's what set him apart from his family was that he cared he was not heartless like they were so in the end the matter how much he denied it he loved his brother and he loved his parents but that love turned to hatred for his mother and father and he thought for his brother too but maybe he was wrong

"**Master Sirius ran away, good riddance, for he was a bad boy and broke my Mistress's heart with his lawless ways. But Master Regulus had proper order; he knew what was due to the name of Black and the dignity of his pure blood. For years he talked of the Dark Lord, who was going to bring the wizards out of hiding to rule the Muggles and the Muggle-borns . . . and when he was sixteen years old, Master Regulus joined the Dark Lord. So proud, so proud, so happy to serve . . .**

"Nothing to be proud of" Kingsley said darkly.

"Yeah what's so great about killing innocent people?" Tonks muttered.

**And one day, a year after he joined, Master Regulus came down to the kitchen to see Kreacher. Master Regulus always liked Kreacher. And Master Regulus said . . . he said . . . " The old elf rocked faster than ever. ". . . he said that the Dark Lord required an elf."**

"What?" The Order members yelled "Why would Voldemort need an elf?"

**"Voldemort needed an elf?" Harry repeated, looking around at Ron and Hermione, who looked just as puzzled as he did.**

"**Oh yes," moaned Kreacher. "And Master Regulus had volunteered Kreacher. It was an honor, said Master Regulus, an honor for him and for Kreacher, who  
must be sure to do whatever the Dark Lord ordered him to do . . . and then to c-come home." Kreacher rocked still faster, his breath coming in sobs.**

Sirius laughed softly "Regulus was always smart" When the room looked at him strangly he just said "You'll see"

**"So Kreacher went to the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord did not tell Kreacher what they were to do, but took Kreacher with him to a cave beside the sea. And beyond the cave was a cavern, and in the cavern was a great black lake . . ."**

**The hairs on the back of Harry's neck stood up. Kreacher's croaking voice seemed to come to him from across the dark water. He saw what had happened as clearly as though he had been present.**

" **. . . There was a boat . . . "**

**Of course there had been a boat; Harry knew the boat, ghostly green and tiny, bewitched so as to carry one wizard and one victim toward the island in the center. This, then, was how Voldemort had tested the defenses surrounding the Horcrux, by borrowing a disposable creature, a house-elf . . .  
**  
"That's that's just" Sirius didn't like Kreacher but still to die like that? For now Sirius was glad Regulus had told him to come home.

**"There was a b-basin full of potion on the island. The D-Dark Lord made Kreacher drink it. . . . "**

**The elf quaked from head to foot.**

"**Kreacher drank, and as he drank he saw terrible thing . . . Kreacher's insides burned . . . Kreacher cried for Master Regulus to save him, he cried for his Mistress Black, but the Dark Lord only laughed . . .He made Kreacher drink  
all the potion . . .He dropped a locket into the empty basin . . .He filled it with more potion."**

"**And then the Dark Lord sailed away, leaving Kreacher on the island . . ."  
**  
"Bastard" Lily hissed out. Sirius didn't know what to think. Didn't know if he should feel bad for the elf that had as good as killed him.

**Harry could see it happening. He watched Voldemort's white, snakelike face vanishing into darkness, those red eyes fixed pitilessly on the thrashing elf whose death would occur within minutes, whenever he succumbed to the desperate thirst that the burning poison caused its victim . . . But here, Harry's imagination could go no further, for he could not see how Kreacher had escaped.**

"I really don't like our sons imagination" Lily whispered to James. James nodded, he didn't like it either.

**"Kreacher needed water, he crawled to the island's edge and he drank from the black lake . . . and hands, dead hands, came out of the water and dragged Kreacher under the surface . . ."  
**  
Silence. No one said a word. How could someone leave an elf to that fate?

"How did he get away?" Ginny whispered

"Magic" Luna answered. Ginny was about to talk back but Remus continued.

"How did you get away?" Harry asked, and he was not surprised to hear himself whispering.

**Kreacher raised his ugly head and looked Harry with his great, bloodshot  
eyes.**

"**Master Regulus told Kreacher to come back," he said.**

"**I know—but how did you escape the Inferi?" Kreacher did not seem to understand.**

"**Master Regulus told Kreacher to come back," he repeated.**

"**I know, but-"**

"**Well, it's obvious, isn't it, Harry?" said Ron. **

"**He Disapparated!"**

"**But . . . you couldn't Apparate in and out of that cave," said Harry, "otherwise Dumbledore-"**

"**Elf magic isn't like wizard's magic, is it?" said Ron, "I mean, they can Apparate and Disapparate in and out of Hogwarts when we can't."  
**  
"Never thought Ron could use logic" Fabian said trying to lighten to mood. It didn't work completely but he did see the corners of his twin and his twin nephews lips curve up.

**There was a silence as Harry digested this. How could Voldemort have made such a mistake? But even as he thought this, Hermione spoke, and her voice was icy.**

"**Of course, Voldemort would have considered the ways of house-elves far beneath his notice . . . It would never have occurred to him that they might have magic that he didn't."  
**  
"I stand by what I said" Kingsley's voice boomed though the silence "She is a very smart witch"

**"The house-elf's highest law is his Master's bidding," intoned Kreacher. "Kreacher was told to come home, so Kreacher came home. . . ."**

"**Well, then, you did what you were told, didn't you?" said Hermione kindly. "You didn't disobey orders at all!"  
Kreacher shook his head, rocking as fast as ever.**

"**So what happened when you got back?" Harry asked. "What did Regulus say when you told him what happened?"**

"**Master Regulus was very worried, very worried," croaked Kreacher. "Master Regulus told Kreacher to stay hidden and not to leave the house. And then  
. . . it was a little while later . . . Master Regulus came to find Kreacher in his cupboard one night, and Master Regulus was strange, not as he usually was, disturbed in his mind, Kreacher could tell . . . and he asked Kreacher to take him to the cave, the cave where Kreacher had gone with the Dark Lord. . . ."  
**  
"No" Sirius whispered.

**And so they had set off. Harry could visualize them quite clearly, the frightened old elf and the thin, dark Seeker who had so resembled Sirius. . . .Kreacher knew how to open the concealed entrance to the underground cavern, knew how to raise the tiny boat; this time it was his beloved Regulus who sailed with him to the island with its basin of poison. . . .**

"**And he made you drink the poison?" said Harry, disgusted. But Kreacher shook his head and wept.  
**  
The room gasped as Sirius began to shake.  
"No" Sirius repeatedly whispered.  
he could not hold back the motions he was feeling his baby brother… His brother… He just didn't know what to think.

**Hermione's hands leapt to her mouth: She seemed to have understood something.  
"M—Master Regulus took from his pocket a locket like the one the Dark Lord had," said Kreacher, tears pouring down either side of his snoutlike nose. "And he told Kreacher to take it and, when the basin was empty, to switch the lockets . . . "**

The girls in the room had tears in there eyes as the men looked at the book in shock. Only Sirius out of the boys had tears in his eyes though they had yet to spill. James watched his friend and he waited until those tears feel because when they did he would be there to help him and he'd be damned if he let anyone make fun of his best mate atthat moment.

**Kreacher's sobs came in great rasps now; Harry had to concentrate hard to understand him.**

"**And he order—Kreacher to leave—without him. And he told Kreacher—to go home—and never to tell my Mistress—what he had done—but to destroy—the first locket. And he drank—all the potion—and Kreacher swapped the lockets—and watched . . . as Master Regulus . . .was dragged beneath the water. . . and . . ."  
**  
"Oh God" Sirius yelled as he broke. Tears streamed down his face for his lost brother. His lost, brave, baby brother.

"Sirius" Lily whispered. Sirius shook as he cried, he didn't want Lily's comfort. James grabbed his shaking best friend.

"Padfoot" James whispered. Sirius flew into James arms and held him tightly as he cried. James too had tears in his eyes as Sirius did.

"Im so sorry" Remus said to Sirius. He wished he could hug him, hold him but he knew he couldn't. It took a little over ten minutes before Sirius and most of the girls had calmed down enough to countinue reading but not before Kingsley spoke up.

"Sirius I promise when this war is over, I will get him an Order of Merlin." Sirius smiled gratefully.

**"Oh, Kreacher!" wailed Hermione, who was crying. She dropped to her knees beside the elf and tried to hug him. At once he was on his feet, cringing away from her, quite obviously repulsed.  
**  
Sirius laughed lightly.

"Only Reg could hug him" He told the group with a ghostly smile on his face.

**"The Mudblood touched Kreacher, he will not allow it, what would his Mistress say?"**

"**I told you not to call her 'Mudblood'!" snarled Harry, but the elf was already punishing himself. He fell to the ground and banged his forehead on the floor**

"**Stop him—stop him!" Hermione cried. "Oh, don't you see now how sick it is, the way they've got to obey?"**

"**Kreacher—stop, stop!" shouted Harry. The elf lay on the floor, panting and shivering, green mucus glistening  
around his snot, a bruise already blooming on his pallid forehead where he had struck himself, his eyes swollen and bloodshot and swimming in tears. Harry had never seen anything so pitiful.**

The room shuddered at the image.

**"So you brought the locket home," he said relentlessly, for he was determined to know the full story. "And you tried to destroy it?"**

"**Nothing Kreacher did made any mark upon it," moaned the elf. "Kreacher tried everything, everything he knew, but nothing, nothing would work. . . . So many powerful spells upon the casing, Kreacher was sure the way to destroy it was to get inside it, but it would not open . . . Kreacher punished himself, he tried again, he punished himself, he tried again. Kreacher failed to obey orders,**

**Kreacher could not destroy the locket! And his mistress was mad with grief, because Master Regulus had disappeared and Kreacher could not tell her what had happened, no, because Master Regulus had f-f-forbidden him to tell any of the f-f-family what happened in the c-cave . . . "**

"Poor Kreacher" Lily moaned sadly. Sirius for once in his life nodded. He too felt bad for the elf.

**Kreacher began to sob so hard that there were no more coherent words. Tears flowed down Hermione's cheeks as she watched Kreacher, but she did not dare touch him again. Even Ron, who was no fan of Kreacher's, looked troubled. Harry sat back on his heels and shook his head, trying to clear it.**

"**I don't understand you, Kreacher," he said finally. "Voldemort tried to kill you, Regulus died to bring Voldemort down, but you were still happy to betray Sirius to Voldemort? You were happy to go to Narcissa and Bellatrix, and pass information to Voldemort through them . . ."**

"I don't understand either" Sirius said as well.

**"Harry, Kreacher doesn't think like that," said Hermione, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand. "He's a slave; house-elves are used to bad, even brutal treatment; what Voldemort did to Kreacher wasn't that far out of the common way. What do wizard wars mean to an elf like Kreacher? He's loyal to people who are kind to him, and Mrs. Black must have been, and Regulus certainly was, so he served them willingly and parroted their beliefs. I know what you're going to say," she went on as Harry began to protest, "that Regulus changed his mind . . . but he doesn't seem to have explained that to Kreacher, does he?"  
**  
"So its my fault?" Sirius finally said "My fault I died"

"No! Its not-" Remus and James began but Sirius cut them off.

"Yes it is. I was mean to him because he reminded me of my life when I lived there. I was way to horrid to him no wonder he betrayed me." Sirius whispered.

"No Pads" James said sternly. "You may have made a mistake but we all make mistakes" Sirius smiled graefully at James.

**And I think I know why. Kreacher and Regulus's family were all safest if they kept to the old pure-blood line. Regulus was trying to protect them all."**

"He should have been in Gryffindor" McGonagall said from her seat. Sirius shook his head.

"It doesn't matter." He told the room.

"What do you mean Pads?" James asked.

"Houses. I know I was all about Slytherin's are evil but I was wrong" At the rooms shocked looks he continued. "Reg was a Slytherin and he died to bring down Voldemort. Pettigrew was a Gryffindor and he became a traitor. Cedric Diggory from what Harry told me was brave and smart. Huffelpuffs are known to be weak and geeks. Ravenclaws are known to be stuck up. Luna from what I can tell is no where near being stuck up. We were wrong houses don't matter." The room was looking at the man who always joked, always laughed and smiled, but this man was now looking at the world differently.

"Well said Sirius" Remus said smiling proudly. Sirius smiled at him.

"Im proud to have been able to say you were once my lion" McGonagall said fondly.

Sirius laughed. "I still think snakes are below Lions." The room laughed well not everything has changed about the Marauder.

**"Sirius-"**

"**Sirius was horrible to Kreacher, Harry, and it's no good looking like that, you know it's true. Kreacher had been alone for such a long time when Sirius came to live here, and he was probably starving for a bit of affection. I'm sure 'Miss Cissy' and 'Miss Bella' were perfectly lovely to Kreacher when he turned up, so he did them a favor and told them everything they wanted to know. I've said all along that wizards would pay for how they treat house-elves. Well, Voldemort did . . . and so did Sirius."**

"She's right" Sirius said with a fond smile "But I know better now."

**Harry had no retort. As he watched Kreacher sobbing on the floor, he remembered what Dumbledore had said to him, mere hours after Sirius's death: I do not think Sirius ever saw Kreacher as a being with feelings as acute as a human's. . . .**

"I didn't" Sirius answered honestly "But I do know. I only wish I could say sorry to Kreacher."

**"Kreacher," said Harry after a while, "when you feel up to it, er. . . . please sit up."**

Lily smiled proudly at her son. James was watching Sirius to make sure he was fine. When Sirius smiled at him James smiled back and returned to listening to the book.

**It was several minutes before Kreacher hiccuped himself into silence. Then he pushed himself into a sitting position again, rubbing his knuckles into his eyes like a small child.**

"Aww" Ginny and Luna said making the room laugh. Both girls blushed as they laughed with them.

**"Kreacher, I am going to ask you to do something," said Harry. He glanced at Hermione for assistance. He wanted to give the order kindly, but at the same time, he could not pretend that it was not an order. However, the change in his tone seemed to have gained her approval: She smiled encouragingly.**

"**Kreacher, I want you, please, to go and find Mundungus Fletcher. We need to find out where the locket—where Master Regulus's locket it. It's really important. We want to finish the work Master Regulus started, we want to—er—ensure that he didn't die in vain."**

"Thank you Harry" Sirius said happily.

**Kreacher dropped his fists and looked up at Harry.**

"**Find Mundungus Fletcher?" he croaked.  
"And bring him here, to Grimmauld Place," said Harry. "Do you think you could do that for us?" As Kreacher nodded and got to his feet, Harry had a sudden inspiration. He pulled out Hagrid's purse and took out the fake Horcrux, the substitute locket in which Regulus had placed the note to Voldemort.  
"Kreacher, I'd, er, like you to have this," he said, pressing the locket into the elf's hand.**

"Oh Harry" Lily smile was from ear to ear. He son was such a kind person. Sirius grinned at the book happy his godson could be the better man.

**"This belonged to Regulus and I'm sure he'd want you to have it as a token of gratitude for what you-"  
**  
"Okay to much" Sirius laughed. The room laughed and smiled as they heard the familiar bark like laugh.

**"Overkill, mate," said Ron as the elf took one look at the locket, let out a howl of shock and misery, and threw himself back onto the ground.**

The room laughed lightly again. They didn't fully understand what had changed but they knew that something did. Whether it was Sirius himself or the fact that titles don't mean anything that was fully understood but something did change in the book and in the small Weasley house.

**It took them nearly half an hour to calm down Kreacher, who was so overcome to be presented with a Black family heirloom for his very own that he was too weak at the knees to stand properly. When finally he was able to totter a few steps they all accompanied him to his cupboard, watched him tuck up the locket safely in his dirty blankets, and assured him that they would make its protection their first priority while he was away. He then made two low bows to Harry and Ron, and even gave a funny little spasm in Hermione's direction that might have been an attempt at a respectful salute, before Disapparating with the usual loud crack**

"Wow even kind of sort of nice to Hermione" Fred said making the room laugh again.

"That was a long chapter" Remus commented

"But we learned a lot. I hope they get the horcrux."

"Yeah me too Remus." Gideon said. "Can I read?" He asked. Remus frowned.

"Can you?" He asked. Gideon growled lightly.

"Yes Remus I can read." Remus blushed as the room laughed.

"No I mean wont the book go right threw you?" Gideon shook his head.

"No I think I can hand it over" Remus did as told and handed over the book. He expected it to fall to the floor but to his surprise Gideon grabbed it and opened it to the next chapter.

Before he even began to read the title Fred, George, Sirius, James, and Fabian's stomach growled loudly.

"Wow" Remus said with a laugh. Sirius grinned at him.

"What great minds think alike" Sirius smirked.

"Yeah-" Fred said

"So when-" George continued

"One is-" Fabian added.

"Hungry then-" James continued

"Were all-" Sirius said with a smirk

"Hungry" They finished together. They laughed as the room groaned.

"That is very VERY annoying" Ginny said. "But im hungry too"

"Yeah same here" Charlie said as Bill nodded.

"Very well then ill go make some food" Molly said as she stood up and walked to the kitchen.

"So Gideon whats the next chapter called?" Tonks asked.

"The Bribe" Gideon said his voice sounding curious.

**So what did you think? Did you like it? What did you think about Sirius in this chapter? Let me know what you thought over all. What was your favorite part of this chapter (:**

**I will update a new chapter in a few days but reviews always get me motivated, so you know what to do!**


	4. Hey Guys I am sorry

Hello guys sorry about no updating in a while. I just want to let you all know that I have continued this story, but sadly I can not post it on here. -_- I got a notice telling me that it is against the rules or something which I find bogus but alas i have to follow. Anyone know where else I can post this story with no fear of redemption? For those followers who fell in love with this story just as much as I did, please forgive me. ALSO those who follow my other stories I will be starting to update again so look for that email of saying I added a new chapter to one maybe even all of my other stories!


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